US stocks rose to a record high as energy and hospitality industries rallied. The S&P 500 index rose to a record $4,486 while the tech-heavy index rose to $1,019. This was its first close above $15,000 on record. Companies in the hotel, airline, and energy sectors rose as investors remained optimistic that the economy will rebound despite the new Delta variant. Also, they were optimistic about the recent full authorization of the Pfizer vaccine. Meanwhile, meme stocks like GameStop, AMC, and Naked Brand Group popped. AMC and GameStop shares rose by more than 20%. The rally in stocks extended in the futures market after the House passed the $1 trillion infrastructure package and the $3.5 trillion anti-poverty plan.
The New Zealand dollar was little changed after the latest trade numbers from the country. According to the statistics agency, the country exported goods worth more than N$5.75 billion in July, which was slightly below the previous month’s N$5.96 billion. In the same period, exports increased from N$5.71 billion to more than N$6.16 billion. As a result, the trade deficit widened to more than N$1.1 billion. New Zealand extended its lockdown on Tuesday after confirming 41 new cases.
The euro declined slightly as investors waited for the latest German sentiment data by the ifo Institute. These are important numbers that provide an early signal about business investments. Analysts expect the data to show that business sentiment inched down slightly in August as the country faced the current Delta wave. Also, manufactures are still facing substantial labour and parts shortages. Elsewhere, the US will publish the latest core durable goods orders while the Energy Information Administration will release the latest inventories data.
EURUSD
The EURUSD pair declined slightly in the overnight session as the market waits for the Jackson Hole Summit. The pair is trading at 1.1734, which was lower than this week’s high of 1.1765. On the 30-minute chart, the pair has formed what looks like a double-top pattern. It also moved from above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement to the current 50% retracement level. The Relative Strength Index has also been in a bearish trend. Therefore, the pair will likely keep falling, with the next key target being at the 38.2% retracement level at 1.1715.
NDX100
The Nasdaq 100 index rose to an all-time high as the risk-on sentiment returned. Futures tied to the index are trading at $15,352. On the hourly chart, the bullish trend is being supported by the short and longer-term moving averages. At the same time, the MACD and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) have formed a bearish divergence pattern. This is a sign that the bullish trend may be running out of steam. Therefore, there is a possibility that the index will pull back and head towards the key support at $15,155.
XBRUSD
The price of Brent crude oil tilted lower slightly after the relatively weak inventories data. The numbers showed that there was a drawdown of more than 1.65 million, which was lower than the expected 2.3 million. It is trading at 70.85, which was slightly below this week’s high of 71. The pair is above the Ichimoku cloud and the 25-day moving average on the hourly chart. The DeMarker indicator has also moved below the overbought level. Still, the bullish trend is intact, meaning that the price will likely keep rising.
