Market Brief: Double Whammy for Aussie

Fawad Razaqzada TradingCandles.com

At 13:10 GMT, the GBP was the strongest while the AUD remained the weakest:

Safe-haven government bonds have resumed higher, pushing yields lower. This has helped to underpin low and noninterest-bearing assets such as the CHF, JPY and GOLD.

AUD has been hurt by the weaker-than-expected Aussie and Chinese data, released overnight. Details HERE.

Equity markets in the US seem to have stalled for the time being after repeatedly hitting new record highs: US index futures point to a lower open, tracking the losses seen in European markets so far today:

EUR little-changed despite news Germany managing to avoid a technical recession with an unexpected growth of 0.1% q/q. Here's today's most notable data beats and misses (circled):

In company news (by colleague Ken Odeluga):

Burberry shares surged 9% after meeting half-year sales estimates and beating profit forecasts. The stock later traded +4.8% higher. It sees "significant negative impact in Hong Kong."

Merk KGaA, Germany's drug and pharma giant, fell 1.5% despite raised full-year forecasts after beating core earnings estimates in Q3, helped by a takeover.

Eventim, another German stand-out, slumped 7% dragging Europe's media sector. The ticket and live entertainment group's CEO plans to sell a 4.4% stake.

Coming up: second-tier US data but plenty of FedSpeak:

Author

Fawad Razaqzada

TradingCandles.com

Experience Fawad is an experienced analyst and economist having been involved in the financial markets since 2010 working for leading global FX, CFD and Spread Betting brokerages, most recently at FOREX.com and City Index.

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.