Category Archives: Market Insights

The US Producer Price Index came in lower than expected The US Federal Reserve’s rate hike expectations have continued to wane amid a flurry of lacklustre economic data. The latest blow to inflationary pressures came from the Producer Price Index (PPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which displayed a significant drop in annualisedContinue Reading

US Treasury yields and the Greenback dipped as investors recalibrated their expectations for rate hikes following the release of March’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which came in below the market consensus. This unexpected dip in inflation triggered a surge in the prices of non-yielding assets such as gold and crude oil, as the weakening ofContinue Reading

On Wednesday, 12 April, the U.S. CPI data was released, showing that March’s headline inflation in the U.S. slowed more than anticipated, with the year-on-year number showing a drop from 6.0% in February to 5.0% in March; lower than the expected 5.2%. The monthly rate decreased to 0.1% from 0.4%, which was lower than theContinue Reading

Economists project the upcoming U.S. CPI figures will galvanise the markets in either direction depending on its performance U.S. equity markets have traded in low volatility for the past few sessions, but economists project the lull period will be broken after the U.S. CPI is released later today. A softer reading from the CPI isContinue Reading

The market has a higher risk tolerance, with U.S. equity markets edging higher and the dollar extending its gain for the 2nd straight session. On the other hand, notwithstanding a dovish stance from the newly appointed BoJ governor, economists projected that the ultra-loose monetary policy is unsustainable with the rising inflation in Japan. Shifting fromContinue Reading

The markets remained clueless after releasing mixed signals in the U.S. economic data last Friday. Last Friday, U.S. economic data gave mixed signals, leaving the markets clueless, especially on the upcoming Fed’s monetary policy. The Non-Farm Payroll decelerated to 236k but is in line with the market consensus. However, the country recorded a record lowContinue Reading

Asian markets were mixed as investors digested a US labour report showing a drop in job openings to their lowest level in almost two years in February. New Zealand’s central bank increased its benchmark cash rate by 50 basis points to 5.25%, causing the New Zealand dollar to strengthen by almost 0.9%. Meanwhile, Japan’s NikkeiContinue Reading

Most of the asset classes were muted ahead of the Nonfarm Payroll report which will be released today; Markets seemed confused and contradictory between asset classes with the backdrop of high inflation and recession fears. Assets class, including equity markets, the U.S. dollar, gold, stayed flat on Thursday amid directionless trading. On the other hand,Continue Reading

On Wednesday, 8 March, the U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment Change data for February was released, coming in at a lower-than-expected 145,000 against the expected 200,000 and down from January’s figure of an upwardly-revised 261,000. This is the latest in a string of cooling data showing that the Fed’s aggressive tightening regime might finally be takingContinue Reading

Recession fears have escalated in the markets, especially after the ADP Nonfarm payroll was released yesterday. The dollar index traded higher, and gold prices poised at a yearly high as safe-haven assets are being sought after by investors amid a recession looming with a lower-than-expected U.S. job report. On top of that, the U.S. ISMContinue Reading