Stock market today: S&P 500 closes higher in thin holiday trading
(eToro Blog) The U.S. Federal Reserve took center stage this week as markets focused on their response to an improving economy despite headwinds generated by a global slowdown in general, and specifically, from the Eurozone’s ongoing problems. In the end, the Fed promised that the low interest rates that they had committed to several months ago would be allowed to run its course through 2014 and that Operation Twist would conclude without extension in June. As an appeasement to critics’ concerns that the end of Operation Twist was equivalent to monetary tightening, the Fed said that they would not hesitate to take an accommodative stance should future conditions warrant.
In the Eurozone, ECB head Mario Draghi’s offered little solace to investors worried about Eurozone growth prospects. Already this week, tension had been rising on the possibility that French President Nicolas Sarkozy could be ousted by Socialist Francois Hollande. Mr. Draghi said that a growth compact was needed alongside the fiscal treaty already agreed to by 17 of the E.U. members. However, M. Hollande said that he not only disagreed with Mr. Draghi’s stance on how best to promote E.U. growth but also that he’d seek to renegotiate the fiscal treaty if elected, as France would not ratify it in the present form. The EUR/USD has been steadily moving higher since Monday’s low which followed the first round of voting in the French presidential election; as of this writing the pair is trading slightly lower at 1.3211. OpenBook trader AtelierUK, who has 31 copiers and 265 followers, has been notching gains on both sides of the pair over the course of the week, with some profitably closed CopyTrades, as well as a number of self-originated positions; for the week, his 67.8% allocation in the Euro-Dollar has provided a gain of 2.9%.
In the U.K., the Office of National Statistics confirmed that the U.K. has slipped into a double dip recession with a contraction in the first quarter and the Bank of England is forecasting that the second quarter will be equally as dismal. The onus will be on the government to weigh the benefits of the continued austerity they maintain is needed to reduce the deficit with the significant loss of economic growth. The Pound Sterling took a bit of a battering initially, but has surprised traders with its resiliency. OpenBook trader th3web had earlier closed a profitable short position that was opened as a CopyTrade from guru romijast. This guru has 113 copiers currently, and a diverse but profitable portfolio consisting of nearly every currency pair.
In Australia, consumer inflation data for the first quarter of the year was reported well below analysts’ forecasts and ushered in rising expectations of near-term rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Australian Dollar, already under pressure as a result of slowing Chinese growth, is under even more of a strain now. Markets had been pricing in a 25 basis point cut given the global slowdown but the latest inflation data is fueling speculation of even a 50 basis points reduction. OpenBook guru robepu had earlier closed out two profitable long positions, but has also been establishing buy orders to take advantage of the falling price and the eventual retracement. The AUD/USD has a prominent place in this guru’s well-balanced portfolio with a 14.2% allocation which has provided him and his 1276 copiers a 7.4% gain.
OpenBook trader khawarizmi023 hasn’t been trading very long on OpenBook, but even without his acknowledgement, it’s clear that he has had some trading experience, having already been discovered by 82 copiers and 237 followers. That is due in large part to exceptional statistics, which include a 671.9% profit for the month, and 1030.8% for the quarter. He considers himself a swing-trader and tries to avoid scalping when possible, preferring to maximize profits. Although 88.2% of his portfolio is allocated to trading currency pairs, he breaks up the remainder with 7.5% allocated to commodities and 4.4% to indices. His greatest successes have been in trading currencies, and among all of the currency pairs, he predominantly trades the EUR/USD, GBP/USD and AUD/JPY, which have provided him with gains of 7.3%, 36.5% and 12.5%, respectively. Smaller allocations in the NZD/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/AUD and EUR/JPY are equally impressive, with respective gains over the quarter of 24.7%, 19%, 16.4% and 13.6%.
Guru taetae3751 from Japan currently has 107 copiers and 671 followers, and has been trading on OpenBook for nearly a year now. Recently, he earned a spot on OpenBook’s 6-month ranking board and for good reason. The guru’s profits have shown a steady improvement; a loss of 87.4% at the 1-year mark suggests that this trader’s strategy changed for the better. At 1-month, this guru has a recorded profit of 4%, at 3-months it improves to 76.7% and at 6-months to 360.4%. Over the time, this guru has crafted a very limited portfolio consisting only of a few currency pairs, two of which include this guru’s native currency, the Japanese Yen. The highest allocation of 34.1% is given to the USD/CAD, with a corresponding gain of 3.6%; that is followed by a 25.5% allocation in the EUR/JPY (1.5% gain), 22.8% to the EUR/USD (4.5% gain), 9.6% to the AUD/USD (6.9% gain), 7.3% to the USD/JPY (4.9% gain) and a 0.8% allocation to the EUR/CHF (4.2% gain).
Copyright 2012 eToro Blog
In the Eurozone, ECB head Mario Draghi’s offered little solace to investors worried about Eurozone growth prospects. Already this week, tension had been rising on the possibility that French President Nicolas Sarkozy could be ousted by Socialist Francois Hollande. Mr. Draghi said that a growth compact was needed alongside the fiscal treaty already agreed to by 17 of the E.U. members. However, M. Hollande said that he not only disagreed with Mr. Draghi’s stance on how best to promote E.U. growth but also that he’d seek to renegotiate the fiscal treaty if elected, as France would not ratify it in the present form. The EUR/USD has been steadily moving higher since Monday’s low which followed the first round of voting in the French presidential election; as of this writing the pair is trading slightly lower at 1.3211. OpenBook trader AtelierUK, who has 31 copiers and 265 followers, has been notching gains on both sides of the pair over the course of the week, with some profitably closed CopyTrades, as well as a number of self-originated positions; for the week, his 67.8% allocation in the Euro-Dollar has provided a gain of 2.9%.
In the U.K., the Office of National Statistics confirmed that the U.K. has slipped into a double dip recession with a contraction in the first quarter and the Bank of England is forecasting that the second quarter will be equally as dismal. The onus will be on the government to weigh the benefits of the continued austerity they maintain is needed to reduce the deficit with the significant loss of economic growth. The Pound Sterling took a bit of a battering initially, but has surprised traders with its resiliency. OpenBook trader th3web had earlier closed a profitable short position that was opened as a CopyTrade from guru romijast. This guru has 113 copiers currently, and a diverse but profitable portfolio consisting of nearly every currency pair.
In Australia, consumer inflation data for the first quarter of the year was reported well below analysts’ forecasts and ushered in rising expectations of near-term rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Australian Dollar, already under pressure as a result of slowing Chinese growth, is under even more of a strain now. Markets had been pricing in a 25 basis point cut given the global slowdown but the latest inflation data is fueling speculation of even a 50 basis points reduction. OpenBook guru robepu had earlier closed out two profitable long positions, but has also been establishing buy orders to take advantage of the falling price and the eventual retracement. The AUD/USD has a prominent place in this guru’s well-balanced portfolio with a 14.2% allocation which has provided him and his 1276 copiers a 7.4% gain.
OpenBook trader khawarizmi023 hasn’t been trading very long on OpenBook, but even without his acknowledgement, it’s clear that he has had some trading experience, having already been discovered by 82 copiers and 237 followers. That is due in large part to exceptional statistics, which include a 671.9% profit for the month, and 1030.8% for the quarter. He considers himself a swing-trader and tries to avoid scalping when possible, preferring to maximize profits. Although 88.2% of his portfolio is allocated to trading currency pairs, he breaks up the remainder with 7.5% allocated to commodities and 4.4% to indices. His greatest successes have been in trading currencies, and among all of the currency pairs, he predominantly trades the EUR/USD, GBP/USD and AUD/JPY, which have provided him with gains of 7.3%, 36.5% and 12.5%, respectively. Smaller allocations in the NZD/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/AUD and EUR/JPY are equally impressive, with respective gains over the quarter of 24.7%, 19%, 16.4% and 13.6%.
Guru taetae3751 from Japan currently has 107 copiers and 671 followers, and has been trading on OpenBook for nearly a year now. Recently, he earned a spot on OpenBook’s 6-month ranking board and for good reason. The guru’s profits have shown a steady improvement; a loss of 87.4% at the 1-year mark suggests that this trader’s strategy changed for the better. At 1-month, this guru has a recorded profit of 4%, at 3-months it improves to 76.7% and at 6-months to 360.4%. Over the time, this guru has crafted a very limited portfolio consisting only of a few currency pairs, two of which include this guru’s native currency, the Japanese Yen. The highest allocation of 34.1% is given to the USD/CAD, with a corresponding gain of 3.6%; that is followed by a 25.5% allocation in the EUR/JPY (1.5% gain), 22.8% to the EUR/USD (4.5% gain), 9.6% to the AUD/USD (6.9% gain), 7.3% to the USD/JPY (4.9% gain) and a 0.8% allocation to the EUR/CHF (4.2% gain).
Copyright 2012 eToro Blog