Markets are pondering over higher interest rates before Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, gives her testimony to Congress later in the week.
Forex
USD
The dollar is up 0.2% as investors bet that Yellen’s testimony may be hawkish. The dollar reached a ten-month low in June, it has climbed 0.7% since then.
EUR
The euro ditched 0.1% of its gains as investors favour the dollar in today’s trading session.
EURUSD
Support level should be at 1.1382, while resistance is at 1.1408. There could be bearish tendencies for the pair as we head into Wednesday’s trading session, supported by a downward sloping Moving Average curve.
JPY
The Japanese yen is trading downwards for the third day in a row. The currency has lost 0.4% per dollar as investors favour risker assets and ignore geopolitical risks.
USDJPY
Bullish movements are probable for the next few days.
NZD
The New Zealand dollar dropped the mist among all major currencies, declining 0.6% against its US counterpart after consumer spending data came in worst than expected.
NZDUSD
Global Equities
European stocks inched higher as investors awaited the US earnings season kick-off, a potential stimulate of higher equity prices. With global stocks tantalisingly close to all-time highs, attention is diverted to corporate earnings results. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) are up this week.
The bull equity market is now eight years old and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. High returns usually go hand-in-hand with high volatility however 2017 has been marked by record low bearish tones in equity markets. For example, the S&P 500 only closed down 1% on four occasions, meanwhile it made 24 new highs. Returns were two times historical levels (8.2%).
Commodities
Oil
Crude Oil is veering downwards after a strong start to the European trading session. Crude oil is down 0.8% after a boost from OPEC’s plan to meet in Russia on the 24th of July to discuss Libya and Nigeria’s production output. Previously, these African nations were exempt from production cuts amid internal strife.
Crude oil is heading into oversold territory if you were to look at the Momentum and RSI curves. Perhaps tomorrow’s crude oil inventory data will help crude oil find support.
