Dovish Fed rally pushes US stocks to new highs while UK markets stumble as UK budget deficit surges

Chris Beauchamp IG

UK budget deficit surges

The UK’s August budget deficit surged to £18 billion, far above forecasts, sparking market concerns over fiscal sustainability, weakening sterling to its lowest in weeks, weighing on the UK stock market and pushing gilt yields higher amid fears of mounting inflation and limited policy flexibility. Meanwhile the three main US indices hit yet more record highs while France's industry confidence weakened slightly and China's foreign direct investment dropped 12.7% year-on-year in the first eight month of the year, amid global uncertainty.

US Dollar rises for third straight day

Following the Fed's widely anticipated 25-basis point rate cut on Wednesday the US dollar has regained some of its recent losses and is on track for a third straight day of gains. Crude oil prices hardly changed while gold and silver rose. Meanwhile the price of Arabica coffee fell by around 3.75% to a one-month low as US law makers are said to prepare a bill to exempt the commodity from import tariffs.

Author

Chris Beauchamp

EUR/USD eyes nine-day EMA barrier after rebounding from 1.1600

EUR/USD gains ground after registering modest losses in the previous session, trading around 1.1620 during the Asian hours on Friday. The technical analysis of the daily chart suggests an ongoing bearish bias as the pair remains within the descending channel pattern.

GBP/USD: Pound Sterling ticks up against US Dollar in countdown to US NFP

The Pound Sterling trades marginally higher to near 1.3365 against the US Dollar during the Asian trading session on Friday. The GBP/USD pair edges up as the US Dollar ticks down ahead of the United States Nonfarm Payrolls data for February, which will be published at 13:30 GMT.

Gold rises but remains on track for weekly loss in five weeks

Gold price recovers its recent losses from the previous session on Friday. The yellow metal advances as the broader precious metals market rebounds on safe-haven demand. However, the yellow metal is on track for its first weekly decline in five weeks as escalating Middle East tensions push oil prices higher, fueling inflation concerns and reducing bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple at risk as US-Iran war extends

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple trade cautiously at press time on Friday, close to key support levels after a roughly 2% pullback the previous day. Bitcoin holds above $71,000, Ethereum at $2,000, and XRP continues to consolidate in a sideways range.

The market compass is pointing at a barrel of Oil

The Asian open is arriving with equities leaning the wrong way, and the reason is not complicated. The market’s compass needle has snapped firmly toward crude. In this tape, oil is not just another input price; it is the gravitational center around which every asset class is orbiting.

Ripple tests recovery strength amid steady ETF inflows, growing retail interest

Ripple (XRP) continues to demonstrate notable resilience as the cryptocurrency market navigates the persistent war in the Middle East after the United States (US) and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday.