Stocks Grind Higher
Equity indices recovered some of the lost ground yesterday, amid speculation that the US could start reopening its economy sooner rather than later. President Trump suggested that the peak in new infections has been passed and that his team will be publicizing its plans to reopen the economy later today.
The UK government is also expected to unveil its plans for the near future, with Health Minister Hancock stating that its too early to make changes to lockdown measures. Meanwhile, Australia reaffirmed that social distancing would remain in place for the time being. The country’s government will be reviewing its stance sometime within the next four weeks.
US equity futures are trading higher, just over 0.8% at the time of writing. European indices are also trading higher as the market opens, with the FTSE 100 trading up 0.6% and the German DAX is up 0.8%.
USD Remains Bid Across the Board
Despite the record-high expansion of the US Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, the USD remains bid across the board. The greenback continued on its rally against commodity currencies and remained relatively bid against its European counterparts.
Despite a significant deterioration in US economic data, the USD continues to benefit as a safe haven in times of market turbulence. With commodities, and especially oil in low demand, the antipodean and emerging markets currencies are all under pressure against the greenback.
Gold Consolidating
Gold is consolidating in a relatively tight range between 1710 and 1725. Despite the rally in stocks, the yellow metal remains bid, continuing to defy the usual inverse correlation with stock indices. Silver is tracking along, consolidating between 15.30 and 15.55.
