US debt downgrade brushed aside by investors

Chris Beauchamp IG

The latest US debt downgrade has failed to put much of a dent in the stock market rally, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading platform IG.

Stocks shrug off Moody’s downgrade

Older hands in this market will remember when downgrades of US debt meant something, at least for a day or so. Moody’s Friday night downgrade of the US completes the trio of ratings agencies, but it does feel like a stable door, horse bolted moment given how little new information the news provides. Early trading on Wall Street suggests that it hasn’t deterred the headlong rush back into US equities, which continue to defy the doubters with their post-April rebound.

Pound rises against the dollar

Given the Moody’s news and the EU-UK deal it’s hard to disentangle dollar weakness and sterling strength today. The deal should help to smooth the way to better economic ties, businesses preferring better access even if the UK has had to make significant concessions. It is yet another signal of how Trump’s abrasive approach continues to upend the global order.

Author

Chris Beauchamp

EUR/USD clings to daily gains, still below 1.1900

EUR/USD manages to reverse two daily pullbacks in a row and advances modestly on Thursday, hovering around the 1.1880 zone amid the inconclusive price action around the US Dollar. Meanwhile, weekly Initial Claims rose more than expected last week, while attention is expected to shift to the upcoming US CPI data on Friday.

GBP/USD picks up pace, hits 1.3640

GBP/USD trades with modest gains around 1.3640 so far on Thursday. Indeed, Cable looks to leave behind the weakness seen in the first half of the week in a context of an equally erratic performance in the Greenback and disappoting UK data releases.

Gold stays offered below $5,100

Gold keeps the choppy trade well in place on Thursday, navigating the area below the $5,100 mark per troy ounce amid the lack of clear direction in the Greenback, declining US Treasury yields across the curve and caution ahead of Friday’s publication of US CPI.