Market Brief: Risk Sentiment Continues To Improve

Japanese exports declined for an 8th successive month, falling -1.6% YoY compared with -2.2% expected. China-bound shipments of car parts was the main drag on the headline figure, and exports to China declined by -9.3% YoY. Separately, a Reuters Tankan survey showed manufactures were pessimistic for the fort time in 6 years as the trade war continues to bite.
New Zealand producer prices rebounded in Q2 by 0.5% QoQ, up from -0.5% prior. Input prices also improved and hit 0.3% QoQ versus -0.9% prior.
Narrow ranges across the FX space with all monitored pairs remaining well within their typical daily ranges. GBP and AUD are currently the strongest majors, CHF and CAD are the weakest.
NZD/USD edged its way to an 8-day low (when RBNZ cut by 50bps) and is the only major to break Friday’s range. USD/CHF is testing resistance around 0.98, gold is consolidating around $1509, Silver has touched a 3-day low.

Matt Simpson, CFTe, MSTA CityIndex

The Asian stock markets have reacted more positively towards the interest rate reforms plan proposed by China central bank, PBOC over the weekend where all of them have gained as at today’s Asian mid-session
The top performers are Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and China A50 which have rallied by 1.87% and 1.08% respectively. The on-going rally seen in the Hang Seng Index has also been supported by a peaceful large-scale protest event held yesterday in contrast with previous mass protest demonstrations that have been chaotic with clashes between the police and protesters.
The S&P 500 E-mini futures has traded up by 0.60% in today’s Asia session to print a current intraday high of 2903 after a positive close of 1.14% seen on last Fri, 16 Aug U.S. session.
The FTSE 100 and German DAX CFD futures are trading with modest gains as well at this juncture; up by 0.50% and 0.45% respectively.

Up Next:

A quiet session awaits, with the main data including final CPI reads for Europe. In fact data this week is quite sparse ahead of the Jackson Hole Symposium over the weekend, here the main topic is “challenges for Monetary Policy”.
U.S. Commerce Department’s announcement on whether to extend the existing permit in place for U.S. firms to conduct business dealings with China’s Huawei Technologies.

Macroeconomic Calendar

Author

Matt Simpson, CFTe, MSTA

CityIndex

Matt Simpson is a certified technical analyst who combines charts and fundamentals to generate trading themes.

EUR/USD extends its optimism past 1.1900

EUR/USD retains a firm underlying bid, surpassing the 1.1900 mark as the NA session draws to a close on Monday. The pair’s persistent uptrend comes as the US Dollar remains on the defensive, with traders staying cautious ahead of upcoming US NFP prints and CPI data.

GBP/USD tilts bullish as markets barrel toward mid-week NFP print

GBP/USD is holding a broader bullish structure on the daily chart, with price trading well above the 50 Exponential Moving Average at 1.3507 and the 200 EMA at 1.3310, confirming the intermediate uptrend that has been in place since the November 2025 low near 1.2300.

Gold pushes back above $5,000

The daily chart shows spot Gold in a parabolic uptrend that accelerated sharply from the $4,600 area in late January, printing a record high at $5,598.25 before a violent reversal erased nearly $1,000 in value during the final days of the month.

Litecoin eyes $50 as heavy losses weigh on investors

Following a strong downtrend across the crypto market over the past week, Litecoin holders are under immense pressure. The Bitcoin fork has trimmed about $1.81 billion from its market capitalization since the beginning of the year, sending it below the top 20 cryptos by market cap.

Japanese PM Takaichi nabs unprecedented victory – US data eyed this week

I do not think I would be exaggerating to say that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s snap general election gamble paid off over the weekend – and then some. This secured the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) an unprecedented mandate just three months into her tenure.

Ripple exposed to volatility amid low retail interest, modest fund inflows

Ripple (XRP) is extending its intraday decline to around $1.40 at the time of writing on Monday amid growing pressure from the retail market and risk-off sentiment that continues to keep investors on the sidelines.