Friday 7th October: European Open Briefing

IC Markets No Comments

Global Markets:

  • Asian stock markets: Nikkei and ASX both down 0.30 %, Hang Seng lost 0.35 %, Shanghai Composite closed
  • Commodities: Gold at $1255 (+0.20 %), Silver at $17.32 (-0.15 %), WTI Oil at $50.40 (-0.10 %), Brent Oil at $52.45 (-0.15 %)
  • Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.73, UK 10 year yield at 0.87, German 10 year yield at -0.02

News & Data:

  • Australia AIG Perf of Construction Index Sep: 51.4 (prev. 46.6)
  • Japan Labour Cash Earnings (YoY) Aug: -0.1% (est. 0.40%, prev. 1.20%)
  • Sterling recoups some losses after near 10 percent plunge; stocks slip – RTRS
  • Wall Street ends flat with eyes on payrolls – RTRS
  • Treasuries Extend Selloff as Fed Bets Boost Dollar; Gold Slumps – RTRS
  • Goldman Sees ‘Buying Opportunity’ If Gold’s Plunge Gets Worse – RTRS
  • September Payrolls Have Been a Disappointment Since 2009 – RTRS

Markets Update:

All eyes were on the GBP overnight. At approximately 2305 GMT, GBP/USD had a flash crash that send the pair 800 pips lower, from 1.2610 to a low of almost 1.18. While some see the comments made from French PM Hollande as the trigger, this was clearly not a normal reaction and liquidity in the interbank market was bad, given it happened at a time where US traders have already left their desks and Asian traders just joined.

GBP/USD has recovered most of its losses during the Asian session and rose to 1.2480, but is likely to remain under pressure in the near-term, especially if today's US employment data beat expectations.

Price action in the other major pairs was quiet compared to the Pound. EUR/USD traded within a 1.1110-50 range, while USD/JPY fell from 104.00 to a low of 103.55. The Australian Dollar continues to consolidate and traded 0.7660-90 overnight. The New Zealand Dollar saw a larger decline today, as it fell from 0.7170 to a low of 0.7125.

There will be plenty of data releases today, but the focus will be on US employment data, with NFP expected to come in at 175k.

Upcoming Events:

  • 07:00 BST – German Industrial Production
  • 07:45 BST – French Current Account
  • 07:45 BST – French Trade Balance
  • 08:30 BST – UK Halifax House Price Index
  • 09:30 BST – UK Manufacturing Production
  • 09:30 BST – UK Industrial Production
  • 13:30 BST – US NFP
  • 13:30 BST – US Unemployment Rate
  • 13:30 BST – US Average Hourly Earnings
  • 13:30 BST – Canadian Employment Change
  • 13:30 BST – Canadian Unemployment Rate
  • 15:00 BST – Canadian Ivey PMI
  • 15:30 BST – FOMC Member Fischer speaks
  • 17:45 BST – FOMC Member Mester speaks
  • 20:00 BST – FOMC Member George speaks
  • 20:30 BST – CFTC Positioning Data

Published by

IC Markets

IC Markets is revolutionizing on-line forex trading; on-line traders are now able to gain access to pricing and liquidity previously only available to investment banks and high net worth individuals.