FTSE +12 points at 7189
DAX +19 points at 11603
CAC +6 points at 4905
Euro Stoxx 50 +5 points at 3320
Donald Trump’s aim to bring jobs back to the US is fully on track. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) stepped back from a $1.6 billion worth of expansion in Mexica and redirected investment to Michigan amid criticism.
The US jobs data due this week could be softer according to analysts’ estimates. The US is expected to have added 178’000 nonfarm jobs in December, the unemployment rate is seen higher at 4.7% versus 4.6% printed a month earlier, whereas the average hourly earnings may have improved 0.3% from -0.1% month-on-month as of last month. Soft data could temporally weigh on the US dollar and the US yields. Nevertheless, President-elect Donald Trump’s action on jobs is sufficiently aggressive to temper any disappointment and to keep the USD hawks in charge of the market.
The U.S. 10-Year yields recovered 2.76 basis points in Asia, bouncing off below 2.45% yesterday. The US dollar traded mixed against the G10 complex, yet remained offered against the emerging market currencies. Mexican peso (+0.33%) was little changed on Ford news. {{17|South African Rand}} (+0.71%) was the biggest winner.
The yen slid by 0.23% against the US dollar as Japan came back from holidays. Nikkei and Topix rallied 2.51% and 2.36% respectively at the first trading day of 2017 in Tokyo.
The USD/JPY traded in a tight range of 117.54/118.19. The pair is expected to remain well supported above the ascending hourly Ichimoku cloud cover and should find support at 117.50/117.90 area. The upside appears limited due to the recent easing in the USD and the US yields, yet the positive mid-term bias hints at a further rise toward the 120.00 handle.
WTI futures advanced to $55.60, as analysts expect the US stockpiles to decline for the first time in three weeks. The data is due on Thursday. Combined to OPEC’s efforts to reduce production, the price of a barrel is on a rising trend. Yet according to Energy Information Administration data (EIA), the US crude inventories are at the highest seasonal level of the last thirty years and OPEC may need to cut more in order to sustain the positive price trend, as long as the global demand remains subdued.
The EUR/USD rebounded after a rapid spike down to 1.0340 in New York. Traders remain seller on rallies despite skepticism on fresh USD long positions before the US jobs data. Inflation and services PMI data across the Eurozone countries could shape the sentiment in the morning session.
The GBP/USD remains offered below 1.2300 level.
US and European equity futures were flat in Asia. FTSE futures gained a meager 0.28%, while the DAX futures eased 0.06%. Eurostoxx futures were 0.33% higher in the session.
FTSE 100 closed at 7177.89p on Monday after shortly trading above 7200p for the first time in history. The index is called 12 points firmer at the London open.