European stock indices were firmer first thing following on from solid gains on Wall Street last night. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P500 all closed out at fresh record highs as positive market sentiment kept the upside momentum going. Investors appeared to be making up for lost time following Monday’s US holiday and rushed in on the buy-side following some upbeat earnings reports. Underpinning the current rally is the expectation that Donald Trump will deliver on his promises to cut taxes, boost infrastructure spending and roll back regulations. There is a strong belief that this administration is set to be the most business-friendly in a generation. While there’s plenty of scope for disappointment, particularly as Trump’s deadline for a big tax announcement is realistically just a week away now, investors are terrified of missing out on the current stock market move. For now the momentum is with the buy-side and short-sellers continue to get trampled by the bulls.
The minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve FOMC meeting are released this evening. Investors will be looking out for any clues over the likely timing of future rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve. Last week Fed Chair Janet Yellen delivered testimony to policymakers in Washington. This was interpreted as being more hawkish than anticipated as Dr Yellen went out of her way to suggest that next month’s meeting was “live” when it came to the prospect of a rate hike.
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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.