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
- The US Dollar struggles for direction despite renewed geopolitical tensions.
- Hawkish Fed expectations keep US Dollar bears on the sidelines.
- Traders turn their focus to next week’s US CPI release.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) trades within a volatile range on Friday as a sparse US economic calendar leaves traders watching developments in the Middle East after renewed hostilities between the United States (US) and Iran this week. Even so, the latest flare-up has provided only limited support, with the DXY set to finish the week virtually unchanged.
At the time of writing, the index, which tracks the Greenback’s value against a basket of six major currencies, is trading around 100.85 after slipping to a one-week low of 100.60 earlier in the Asian session.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that Iran had asked to continue talks and that the US had agreed, while reiterating that the ceasefire was “over.”
The mix of diplomacy and ongoing tensions has kept traders cautious about a quick end to the war. Meanwhile, hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations have kept US Dollar (USD) bears on the sidelines.
Minutes of the Fed’s June policy meeting released on Wednesday reinforced the view that interest rate cuts remain off the table for now, as policymakers remain concerned about inflation, which is well above the central bank’s 2% target.
New York Fed President John Williams said on Thursday that “inflation is still far too high,” adding that the Fed is “actively debating scenarios around inflation” and remains committed to returning inflation to its target.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are pricing in a roughly 66% probability that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged at this month’s meeting, while the odds of a rate hike in September stand at 70%.
Attention now turns to next week’s US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, due on Tuesday, which could shape expectations for the Fed’s interest rate path in the coming months.
