Stocks are lower. BOE hints about going negative?
The JPY is the strongest and the GBP is the weakest as North American traders enter for the day. The JPY is finding some safe haven bids as stocks in Europe and US fall. The blame is on the Fed's inability to give more candy to the markets after yesterdays FOMC decision. The GBP has moved lower after the Bank of England's MPC had been briefed on the the BoE's plans to explore how a negative bank rate could be implemented effectively. That sent GBP pairs lower. The GBPUSD fell back to teh 100 hour MA at 1.28797 and found some buyers. The USD is mostly higher but with only modest gains vs. the EUR, CHF, CAD, AUD and NZD (all within 0.12% of unchanged on the day). The USD is higher vs. the GBP and lower vs the JPY.
Looking at the ranges and changes most of the US pairs are within 13 pips of unchanged on the day in an up and down (or down and up) trading day. The GBPUSD and USDJPY are the exceptions with the GBPUSD down -73 pips (USD higher), and the USDJPY down -43 pips (USD lower). The JPY cross pairs are all lower (and near lows) in reaction to stock declines.
In other markets:
- Spot gold is trading down $12.94 or -0.66% at $1945.85
- Spot silver is trading down $0.28 or -1.06% at $26.87
- WTI crude oil futures are trading down $0.07 or -0.17% at $40.10. Yesterday the price move back above the $40 level after inventory data showed a larger than expected drawdown
In the US stock market, the major indices are trading lower led by the tech heavy NASDAQ index which has fallen around 200 points. Yesterday the NASDAQ index and the S&P index moved lower with the NASDAQ also leading the way lower. It fell -139 points yesterday or -1.25%. The futures are currently implying:
- Dow down -241 points
- S&P down -40 points
- Nasdaq down -201 points
In the European equity market, the major indices are mostly lower
- German DAX, -0.77%
- France's CAC, -0.79%
- UK's FTSE 100, -0.44%
- Spain's Ibex, -0.7%
- Italy's FTSE MIB, -1.2%
In the US debt market, yields are lower on flight to safety flows.
In the European debt market, the benchmark 10 year yields are mostly lower with the UK 10 year issue down -2.9 basis points after the Bank of England comments:
