European stock indices managed to end the week on a positive note following Fed chair's Jerome Powell's speech, says Axel Rudolph, Senior Market Analyst at online trading platform IG.
Fed will "proceed carefully" says Jerome Powell
“Fed Chair Jerome Powell's keynote speech at the Jackson Hole symposium was a bit of a damp squib as he tried to please both doves and hawks. After some initial volatility during the speech equity indices declined again but European indices still managed to end the week in positive territory. This despite Germany's economy stagnating in Q2 after its recession and German IFO business sentiment hitting a 10-month low while French unemployment rises the most in two years."
US Dollar appreciation targets may high
“The U.S. dollar is on track for its sixth consecutive week of gains with the US Dollar Basket rallying towards its May peak. Despite better-than-expected UK consumer confidence GBP/USD trades in 2 1/2 month lows, as does EUR/USD ahead of ECB president Christine Lagarde's Jackson Hole speech late on Friday. Next week is brimming with high-impact data releases such as the latest look at inflation, U.S. economic growth and August Non-Farm Payrolls."
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