S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico Market
Chris Turner at ING notes EUR/USD remains lacklustre despite better Eurozone data and upside surprises, as high European natural gas prices and Gulf tensions weigh on the Euro. He argues that a soft US CPI print could allow EUR/USD to challenge last week’s 1.1580 high, though further gains may be limited by upcoming data and the Jackson Hole symposium before the Fed’s mid-September decision.
Energy costs cap Euro upside
“EUR/USD continues to trade in a lacklustre fashion. Better hard activity data and eurozone economic numbers generally surprising on the upside have failed to provide the euro with much of a lift. That may be owed to unresolved tension in the Gulf, which is keeping European natural gas prices above €60/MWh.”
“In terms of geopolitics, there is very little clarity here, although the latest reports suggest Pakistan and Oman are managing to bring the US and Iran a little closer together.”
“If the US CPI number does indeed come in on the soft side, EUR/USD should be able to challenge last week’s high at 1.1580. That is about the extent of a move priced into one-day straddle options.”
“Much more of a move may be too much to ask in quiet summer markets, given we will also see another round of CPI and jobs data – plus the Jackson Hole Fed symposium – before the Fed decides on policy mid-September.”
