Category: Daily blog

Dollar on the back foot again

The dollar lost ground yesterday as US stocks gave up early gains to end broadly flat and US bond yields reversed an early increase to finish lower on the day. The euro strengthened to an intra-day high of $1.1425 but has since retreated to just under $1.14. The pound outperformed, setting a new 2025 to […]

Dollar ends off its lows

Having sold off on Monday, US equities, bonds and the dollar regained ground over the remainder of the week. The S&P 500 added 0.7% on Friday to take its gains on the week to almost 5%, while US 10-year yields fell by 10bps (to 4.25%) bringing the decline from Monday’s highs to 20bps. The dollar […]

Euro a touch softer

Equity markets advanced again and bond yields fell yesterday, helped by rate cut talk from Fed and ECB members, though there wasn’t a whole lot of movement in the main currency pairs. The euro is a touch softer against both the dollar and sterling this morning, at around $1.1350 and £0.8530 respectively, while sterling is […]

Stocks advance again

It was another generally positive session in markets yesterday. Stocks advanced again albeit the main US indices finished off their very best levels of the day. The dollar also recovered some more ground although its gains were fairly modest. The euro is trading at about $1.1375 against the US currency this morning, while the pound […]

Dollar regains ground

There was a positive tone to markets yesterday as trading got back into full swing following the Easter holiday, helped by comments by the US Treasury Secretary who said the ‘trade war’ with China needed to “de-escalate”. Donald Trump also chipped in late in the day, saying he had “no intention” of firing Fed Chair […]

Dollar under pressure

US equities, bonds and the dollar sold off in tandem during yesterday’s session. This followed comments by Donald Trump strongly criticising the Fed (and its Chair Jerome Powell in particular) for not lowering interest rates, which obviously raises concerns about the central bank’s independence in setting monetary policy and in turn erodes already fragile investor […]

ECB to lower rates again today

US equity markets fell yesterday, led by a 3% decline in the Nasdaq, extending their losses after Fed Chair Powell reiterated that the central bank will keep interest rates on hold for now as it assesses the inflationary consequences of Trump’s tariffs. US bonds rallied (yields fell) as stocks sold off, while the dollar lost […]

Stocks under pressure again

US equities closed (marginally) lower for the first day in three yesterday, while Asian markets were softer overnight after Nvidia revealed the US has imposed curbs on its exports of chips to China. European stocks have also opened lower this morning, off around 1%. US and UK bond yields continued to retrace some of last […]

Calmer market conditions

US stocks and bonds rose yesterday, a welcome change from the latter part of last week when both were selling off together at times and a sign of some improvement in investor confidence. Indications from Trump that US imports of auto parts might be exempt from tariffs helped sentiment, though he again threatened tariffs on […]

Dollar remains under pressure

There was some respite for US equity markets on Friday with the main indices chalking up gains of 1.5%-2.5%, while Asian equities have had a positive session overnight on the back of news that US imports of some electronic products (which mainly come from China) will be exempt from reciprocal tariffs (albeit perhaps only temporarily). […]