UK markets
Alex Salmond's moment in the sun has finally come. The Scottish are voting on the future of their country as we speak, but seeing as stocks with large exposure to Scotland are rallying it would suggest the support for the ‘Yes’ campaign is fading. Our binary bet on the outcome of the Scottish referendum is now showing an 18% chance of a ‘Yes’ vote. Traders were given a shock by the YouGov poll that put the ‘Yes’ campaign ahead nearly two weeks ago, but the sentiment has shifted to the ‘No’ side and traders have used the Salmond shake up as an opportunity to pick up cheap banking stocks.US markets
In the US, the Dow Jones is up 80 points at 17,237. US equities have extended their gains as traders prepare themselves for an interest rate rise in early 2015. The QE scheme is in its final stretch, and now traders are coming around to the idea that rates will not remain at rock bottom forever. Our clients are indicating a market capitalisation of $224 billion, the highest level since March, for Alibaba's IPO; a 37% premium over the company’s guidance ahead of its potentially record-setting float tomorrow.Commodities
Gold hit an eight-month low after the Fed hinted at a sooner -than-expected interest rate rise. Copper has also been hit bit by the strong US dollar as the cash injection by the PBoC did little to stem the fear that the world’s second largest economy is slowing down.FX
The euro is slowly crawling back the ground lost to the US dollar in the wake of FOMC meeting. It has made gains following the beginning of the TLTRO program, combined with some euphoria (however misplaced) over the ECB's voting rotation scheme. Sterling is having a stellar session on the day as the Scottish go to the polls for the referendum on independence, and the jump in the pound suggests that traders are pricing in a ‘No’ vote.
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EUR/USD stabilizes near 1.0800 as trading action turns subdued
EUR/USD holds steady near 1.0800 on Thursday and remains on track to end the day in negative territory following upbeat macroeconomic data releases from the US. The action in financial markets turn subdued as trading volumes thin out heading into Easter holiday.
GBP/USD extends sideways grind above 1.2600
GBP/USD fluctuates in a narrow channel above 1.2600 on Thursday. The better-than-expected Initial Jobless Claims data from the US and the upward revision to the Q4 GDP growth help the USD stay resilient against its rivals and limits the pair's upside.
Gold pulls away from daily highs, holds above $2,200
Gold retreats from daily highs but holds comfortably above $2,200 in the American session on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays near 4.2% after upbeat US data and makes it difficult for XAU/USD to gather further bullish momentum.
XRP price falls to $0.60 support as Ripple ruling doesn’t help Coinbase lawsuit against SEC
XRP programmatic sales ruling by Judge Torres was completely rejected by another US Court that ruled in favor of the SEC in a lawsuit against Coinbase.
Portfolio rebalancing and reflation trades emerge into Q2
Yesterday’s price action pointed at a possible end-of-quarter portfolio rebalancing as the session saw the laggards of the quarter like Apple and Tesla gain, and the stars like Microsoft and Nvidia retreat.