- US retail sales unexpectedly rise 1.0%
- US weekly jobless claims dip to 623,000 from 631,000
- FASB may tweak mark-to-market rules but no suspension
- US median home prices falls 12% y/y in Q4 2008
- VDA: European car sales down 27% in January
- Trichet: Talk of any country leaving the euro “absurd”
- Bin-Smaghi: Possibility rates will be lowered at the March ECB meeting (ya think?)
- French GDP falls 1.2% in Q4; released early
- Obama team leaks potential mortgage plan; stocks rally late
That feeling in the pit of your stomach is motion sickness as markets gyrated violently throughout the day but most violently into the New York close. Stocks were down about 3% with a bit more than an hour to go, and EUR/USD at 1.2765/70 before reversing course sharply as the market suddenly took a liking to the Obama mortgage plan (or something) . Traders had anticipated a bearish close below 820 in the S&P and then had to scramble to cover shorts into the close with the index ending above 835. EUR/USD and EUR/JPY rose sharply as well. The cross ends near 117.00, the high of the day while EUR/USD ends in the middle of its range, around 1.2850 as cold feet broke out on the 1.27-handle again among the bears.
EUR/GBP has extremely sloppy all day, flying around with focus on lousy UK economic prospects one minute and eurozone fears the next. 0.8940/50 is becoming increasingly important support for the cross on dips. Stops above 0.9075 will be eyed overnight.
USD/CAD stalled again in the 1.2540/50 area and slumped to 1.2450 late as risk aversion eased. Oil closed below $34 today but gold traded several times above $950.
