Forex news from the European trading session - 13 October 2020
Headlines:
- Brexit: UK's Raab says that the scope and prospects for a deal are there
- Brexit: EU's Barnier says not enough progress made yet to enter the tunnel
- EU's Barnier says to continue to work for a fair deal in the coming days and weeks
- Nasdaq futures pull higher on the session
- EU's Barnier told EU ministers that movement in Brexit talks not sufficient so far
- US September NFIB small business optimism index 104.0 vs 100.9 expected
- Germany October ZEW survey current situation -59.5 vs -60.0 expected
- SNB's Jordan: We're not big fans of negative interest rates, but it is necessary
- UK September jobless claims change 28.0k vs 73.7k prior
- Germany reports 4,122 new coronavirus cases in latest update today
- IEA sees oil demand taking years to recover from the coronavirus crisis
Markets:
- NZD leads, GBP lags on the day
- European equities mixed; S&P 500 futures down 0.1%
- US 10-year yields down 1.5 bps to 0.758%
- Gold down 0.2% to $1,919.59
- WTI up 2.1% to $40.27
- Bitcoin down 0.4% to $11,518
It was a quiet session for the most part but we are finally starting to see Brexit headlines creep in and it could very well stay the course until the end of the week.
Stocks kept more cautious initially but Nasdaq futures raced higher mid-way through the session as once again there is something about tech stocks that is drawing investors in, with some familiar action taking place since yesterday.
That said, S&P 500 futures were more tepid and the bond market and currencies never did share the same enthusiasm as Nasdaq futures during the session.
The dollar kept steadier and held a slight advance, with EUR/USD falling from 1.1795 to 1.1778 while AUD/USD stayed on the defensive around 0.7165-85 for the most part.
GBP/USD was initially steady around 1.3040-50 levels but fell to 1.3020 levels after EU chief Brexit negotiator Barnier said there was 'not enough progress to enter the tunnel'.
Price action is seen around there currently amid the barrage of other Brexit headlines.
Looking ahead, a big focus in US trading will be on what is driving the tech rally this time around - and how it will all end. It is perhaps a tale of whales and Robinhood traders but it will be interesting to see how that will impact broader sentiment.
