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Top content from across the community, hand-picked by us.
Economic stagnation; ECB and other central banks; range trading - DailyFX Key Themes
JohnDFX posted a blog entry in Market News,
As pattern recognition machines, humans want to avoid a repeat of a painful event from the past, but we don’t always bore down to the root of the problem – especially when the situation is complicated or inconvenient (such as chasing mature and fundamentally dubious trends). At present, we have a range of high-profile fundamental themes that could ease experience another flare up that coincides with the eventual turn of the markets (trade wars, monetary policy flub, fiscal policy flub, political crisis, diplomatic relationships breaking down, etc). Yet, in a neutral market environment, all of these issues could be absorbed readily with little more than a brief injection of volatility.
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US-China Trade Deal 'moving along nicely' - EMEA Brief 04 Mar
GeorgeIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Reports over the weekend have indicated that the US and China are in the later stages of trade talk discussions in a deal which could see tariffs and sanctions lifted on both sides. Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend asking China to remove all tariffs on agricultural products and that trade talks are "moving along nicely".
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The latest from Trump - APAC brief 4 Mar
MaxIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Are things not so bad after all? It appears there’s emerged a self-reinforcing belief that economic fundamentals aren’t as bad as once thought. There’s not a simple binary that can be reduce out of this – a clear “risk-off” or “risk-on” signal. It’s clear there remains a general sense that the global economy is entering a soft-patch. But in that, is the key: slower growth is taken as granted, however the extent of such a slowdown is ostensibly being revised. There isn’t quite (just for the moment) the same level of catastrophism filling the news wires in financial markets right now. It raises the question whether the fundamentals have changed at all, or whether its actually market participants’ perception of the fundamentals that’s changed.
Improved perceptions towards fundamentals: An answer to that one is very difficult to grasp just looking at the price-action. To rattle-off one of the stalest of undergraduate clichés: perception is reality. In the case of traders, the rosier perception of economic fundamentals has inspired the emergence of a virtuous cycle in financial market bullishness. Very often, a break from fundamentals, and a movement towards some imagined state of affairs, gives birth to a sufficient enough divergence between sentiment and hard-data that a relatively small catalyst can spark a jolting correction in market-pricing. That may well be the situation market participants are operating. A blithe optimism or not, some key markets are approaching now key inflection points.
Improved perceptions towards fundamentals: An answer to that one is very difficult to grasp just looking at the price-action. To rattle-off one of the stalest of undergraduate clichés: perception is reality. In the case of traders, the rosier perception of economic fundamentals has inspired the emergence of a virtuous cycle in financial market bullishness. Very often, a break from fundamentals, and a movement towards some imagined state of affairs, gives birth to a sufficient enough divergence between sentiment and hard-data that a relatively small catalyst can spark a jolting correction in market-pricing. That may well be the situation market participants are operating. A blithe optimism or not, some key markets are approaching now key inflection points.
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Planned interview with Jim Rogers
JamesIG posted a topic in General Trading Strategy Discussion,
Hey all - just to let you know that we have an interview planned with Jim Rogers on Monday and we want to make sure our clients have the opportunity to submit any questions they may have. You can do so by leaving your question on this post.
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Chinese factory activity shrinks again- EMEA Brief 01 Mar 2019
KatherineIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Chinese factory activity reduces for the third month in a row with Caixin/Markit Manufacturing PMI at 49.9 for February. A reading above 50 shows expansion
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Chinese bull run - APAC brief 1 March
MaxIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
“A tale of two cities”: As far as Australian markets go, they’ll be defined, broadly-speaking, by the unfolding “tale of two cities” story in global markets. That is: the renewed optimism about the US growth outlook, versus the deterioration in global economic prospects, led by the slowdown in China’s economy. The Australian economy is heavily geared to the latter, so the hunch is our fortunes will be more greatly impacted by that variable. But it won’t be clear cut, and that’s where the uncertainty and opportunity may emerge. The last 24 hours of trade presented a series of curious themes for market participants, with the subsequent price action patchy. What transpired did shift the narrative somewhat, setting the foundations for an interesting week next week.
Chinese (and global) growth: First, the darker side of (the all too crude) binary: a view on what’s happening in China and the world ex-American economy. The Asian session yesterday was preoccupied first by political theatrics, then macroeconomic information. The Cohen testimony gripped attention, however proved more a distraction as far as traders’ were concerned. The falling apart of the Trump-Kim talks in Hanoi disturbed markets, mostly in North-East Asian markets, such as the KOSPI, before the conclusion was drawn that a grand-peace pact between the US and North Korea was an absurd fantasy to begin with. The true focus was on China’s PMI numbers during our Asian trade – and how, once more, very disappointing they were.
Chinese (and global) growth: First, the darker side of (the all too crude) binary: a view on what’s happening in China and the world ex-American economy. The Asian session yesterday was preoccupied first by political theatrics, then macroeconomic information. The Cohen testimony gripped attention, however proved more a distraction as far as traders’ were concerned. The falling apart of the Trump-Kim talks in Hanoi disturbed markets, mostly in North-East Asian markets, such as the KOSPI, before the conclusion was drawn that a grand-peace pact between the US and North Korea was an absurd fantasy to begin with. The true focus was on China’s PMI numbers during our Asian trade – and how, once more, very disappointing they were.
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What does 'following' content mean?
JamesIG posted a tutorial in Community Tutorials,
Updates, directly to your inbox: There are a number of areas within Community which you can ‘Follow’. Threads, community members, blogs, and gallery posters. When you click on the ‘follow’ link you will be asked specifics on how often you would like to be updated on the content published.
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Post in Indices
Caseynotes posted a post in a topic,
Join the debate: "Here is a great chart I originally posted on the forum back in 2016 and I'm very pleased to see it's recently been updated. It gives a valuable insight into the mind set of 'the punters' and has become famous over time as it is so revealing."
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Short summit with no agreement- EMEA Brief 28 Feb
KatherineIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un summit cut down to 30 minutes with no agreement reached and the joining signing ceremony cancelled, however, both parties are “looking forward to meeting in the future”
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Global geopolitics: APAC brief 28 Feb
MaxIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Around the globe, geopolitics dominates: Political spot fires have captured the attention of market participants. From Washington, to Hanoi, to Kashmir, to Caracas, to London: the ugly machinations of power have dominated the headlines. Only, despite fleeting action, the impact to market activity has seemingly been muted. A facile logic might suggest that it is because of the geopolitical uncertainty in the world that markets have traded so dull overnight. It would be too long a bow to draw, though: tremors can be seen in prices, but a global earthquake can’t be found. Not to diminish the events turning the world in the last 24-hours: they go well beyond the importance of markets. It’s simply just developed markets haven’t responded terribly much to them.
In Washington: The most salacious news that had traders’ interest excited last night took place in the halls of US Congress. No, not the testimony of US Fed Chair Jerome Powell – though his words are of far greater import to markets. It was instead the unfolding Michael Cohen testimony, at which the disgraced lawyer has cast a series of accusations and aspersions toward US President Donald Trump, on issues ranging from Russian ties, electoral fraud and hush payments. On the face of what’s been said, the revelations are potentially monumental. However, although demonstrating signs of nervousness in the lead up to the testimony, as it unfolded, financial markets have seemingly shrugged off the possible implications of that event.
In Washington: The most salacious news that had traders’ interest excited last night took place in the halls of US Congress. No, not the testimony of US Fed Chair Jerome Powell – though his words are of far greater import to markets. It was instead the unfolding Michael Cohen testimony, at which the disgraced lawyer has cast a series of accusations and aspersions toward US President Donald Trump, on issues ranging from Russian ties, electoral fraud and hush payments. On the face of what’s been said, the revelations are potentially monumental. However, although demonstrating signs of nervousness in the lead up to the testimony, as it unfolded, financial markets have seemingly shrugged off the possible implications of that event.
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'Spend It Well'; M&S and Ocado Confirm £750m Deal - EMEA Brief 27 Feb
GeorgeIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Marks & Spencer and Ocado have officially confirmed a deal whereby M&S will buy a 50% share of Ocado's retail business in a £750m home delivery deal, a huge transformational step for the iconic retailer. M&S will finance the deal by offering a £600m rights issue to shareholders and cutting dividend payouts by 40%.
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Wall Street trade - APAC brief 27 Feb
MaxIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Wall Street trade: Rolling into Wall Street’s close and the S&P500 is battling it out with the 2800-mark. There’s two hours to go in trade as this is being written, and the crucial last half-hour of trade is what analysts will be breaking down today. It’s been for all intents and purposes a flat day for US stocks, but another bout of selling into the close will add credence to the idea that the buyers are thin at these levels. Market internals don’t appear too stretched for the S&P, and it is being said that there still exists plenty of cash on the sidelines. Weaker volumes and underwhelming intraday breadth suggest the bull’s enthusiasm has waned somewhat for the short-term.
US traders search for leads: Momentum has certainly slowed across US equity indices, adding to the sense that the market has lost upside conviction. Neither the MACD nor the RSI are flashing conspicuous sell signals, but the former is conveying a gradual downside turn, while the latter is flirting with oversold territory. A lack of high impact news, or any general surprises, has deprived US equity markets’ of fuel to further power its rally. Rosy trade-war headlines no longer appear enough to embolden bulls and invite buyers into this market. And the Fed’s back-down to market-pressure over monetary policy settings implies that fear about tightening financial conditions has more-or-less been parked to one side for the foreseeable future.
US traders search for leads: Momentum has certainly slowed across US equity indices, adding to the sense that the market has lost upside conviction. Neither the MACD nor the RSI are flashing conspicuous sell signals, but the former is conveying a gradual downside turn, while the latter is flirting with oversold territory. A lack of high impact news, or any general surprises, has deprived US equity markets’ of fuel to further power its rally. Rosy trade-war headlines no longer appear enough to embolden bulls and invite buyers into this market. And the Fed’s back-down to market-pressure over monetary policy settings implies that fear about tightening financial conditions has more-or-less been parked to one side for the foreseeable future.
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Trade war end and recession; central bank testimony; another Brexit milestone - DailyFX Key Themes
JohnDFX posted a blog entry in Market News,
Investors are starting to see a path form for the United States and China to find a way out of their economically and financially-damaging trade war. After months of little more than a few words of optimism from only one side of the table – which was frequently reversed only days later – we are starting to see conviction from high level officials on both the American and Chinese sides.
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Barrick Gold Announces Plan to Acquire Newmont Mining - EMEA Brief 26 Feb
JoeIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Barrick Gold has announced an unsolicited plan to merge with Newmont Mining in a $19 billion all-share transaction. The merger, if successful, would create the world's largest gold mining company and could potentially re-shape the industry, along with gold prices. This comes after Barrick completed their $6.1 billion acquisition of Randgold Resources last month.
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Prolonged trade truce - APAC bried 26 Feb
MaxIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Trump-Tweet #1: US President Trump announced yesterday what had long been assumed: the trade-truce will be delayed, because of the “very productive talks” going on between his administration and Chinese policymakers. Understandably, the formal recognition that tariffs won’t be hiked to 25 per cent (from their current rate of 10 per cent) on $US200bn of Chinese goods stoked risk sentiment. The overall impact wasn’t quite as deep and broad on one might have hoped, however. The reasoning is logical: progress in trade talks, as alluded to, has long been well known. In fact, for several weeks, in a gradually thinning market recovery, it’s been trade-war headlines that have been providing the sugar hit to sentiment to keep this run going at all.
AUD, RBA and ACGBs: The AUD/USD, and Australian assets, constitute many of the favoured proxies for trading trade-war headlines, and the news’ impact on price action has illustrated nicely the mixed opinion in markets relating to the developments. Yields on short-term bonds are a little higher, but interest rate markets haven't shifted much, while the yield on 10 Year ACGBs has actually fallen to 2.08 per cent, showing that traders are reluctant to price in markedly improved global growth conditions just on the basis of the latest trade war story. As the speculative tool of choice amongst traders to play-with trade war headlines, there has been a noteworthy rally in the AUD, over the last 24 hours, towards resistance at 0.7200.
ASX200: The ASX benefitted somewhat from positivity stemming from the subsequent climb in commodities prices, along with yesterday’s remarkable ~6 per cent rally in Chinese equities. Breadth across the ASX200 was so-so, with only 56 per cent of stocks clocking gains yesterday.
AUD, RBA and ACGBs: The AUD/USD, and Australian assets, constitute many of the favoured proxies for trading trade-war headlines, and the news’ impact on price action has illustrated nicely the mixed opinion in markets relating to the developments. Yields on short-term bonds are a little higher, but interest rate markets haven't shifted much, while the yield on 10 Year ACGBs has actually fallen to 2.08 per cent, showing that traders are reluctant to price in markedly improved global growth conditions just on the basis of the latest trade war story. As the speculative tool of choice amongst traders to play-with trade war headlines, there has been a noteworthy rally in the AUD, over the last 24 hours, towards resistance at 0.7200.
ASX200: The ASX benefitted somewhat from positivity stemming from the subsequent climb in commodities prices, along with yesterday’s remarkable ~6 per cent rally in Chinese equities. Breadth across the ASX200 was so-so, with only 56 per cent of stocks clocking gains yesterday.
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Trade War Progress Ripples Through Markets - EMEA Brief 25 Feb
IGAaronC posted a blog entry in Market News,
Developments have been made in the US-China trade war with Trump announcing ‘substantial progress’ has been made by both sides resulting in the hike on Chinese imports being delayed.
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Stocks finish week on solid footing: APAC brief 25 Feb
MaxIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Stocks finish week on solid footing: Global equities finished last week on a solid footing. Across Asia, Europe and North America, the major share indices closed both Friday and the week in the green – the only notable exception being the FTSE100, which has dipped (typically) because of a stronger Sterling. The solid run into the week’s close came courtesy of more friendly-trade-war headlines, suggesting that significant progress is being made in US-China trade negotiations. A bit of headline jumping, sure. But these headlines were a little brighter than what has been received of late. In short: a final agreement on currency manipulation has been reached, an extension of the trade war truce is likely, and a trade-deal is more likely happening than not.
Risk appetite piqued: This is all according to US President Trump, so the gut says it be taken with a pinch of salt. Equity traders heard enough, however, driving the rally in global stocks. Chinese equities led the gains on both the daily and weekly charts: the CSI300 was up 2.25 per cent on Friday and 5.43 per cent for the week. Growth currencies also rallied into the week’s close. The AUD has climbed back to 0.7129, the NZD is fetching 0.6844, and the CAD (supported by higher oil prices) has broken above 0.7600 once more. Most promisingly of all is price action in commodities. The Bloomberg Commodity Index is at a YTD high, led by a break higher in copper prices.
Venezuela and oil: In commodity-land, arguably as it always is, oil is hogging the conversation. News in the last fortnight that the Saudis intend to deepen production cuts has formed the fundamental basis of oil’s rally. The short-term factors though pertain to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Venezuela.
Risk appetite piqued: This is all according to US President Trump, so the gut says it be taken with a pinch of salt. Equity traders heard enough, however, driving the rally in global stocks. Chinese equities led the gains on both the daily and weekly charts: the CSI300 was up 2.25 per cent on Friday and 5.43 per cent for the week. Growth currencies also rallied into the week’s close. The AUD has climbed back to 0.7129, the NZD is fetching 0.6844, and the CAD (supported by higher oil prices) has broken above 0.7600 once more. Most promisingly of all is price action in commodities. The Bloomberg Commodity Index is at a YTD high, led by a break higher in copper prices.
Venezuela and oil: In commodity-land, arguably as it always is, oil is hogging the conversation. News in the last fortnight that the Saudis intend to deepen production cuts has formed the fundamental basis of oil’s rally. The short-term factors though pertain to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Venezuela.
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Post in Crude Oil (WTI)
cryptotrader posted a post in a topic,
"Oil pushing up to resistance again and looking to break". What are your thoughts going into the weekend? Inverse head and shoulders as others have pointed out, or over bought and looking for a pull back?
ASX Rallies on Weak Australian Dollar - EMEA Brief 22 Feb
IGAaronC posted a blog entry in Market News,
The AUD continues to trade lower following the Chinese ban of Australian coal to its Dalian port. The ASX has benefited for the weaker exchange rate as it is trading at its highest level since October.
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Wall street pull back - APAC brief 22 Feb
MaxIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Wall Street pulls back: On balance, and with Wall Street a few hours from ending its session, it's been a soft 24 hours for equities. The often heard calls of a looming "new-peak" in the market in the shorter term can be heard from some. Momentum has certainly slowed down. The S&P500 has its eyes one 2815 again - that crucial area where that index sold off on three occasions from October to December last year. It could be a slow drive to arrive at a challenge of that level now. The dovish Fed will keep the wind behind US stocks; but the earnings outlook, post reporting season, has dimmed on Wall Street, while positive regarding the trade war has already been heavily juiced.
Trade war truce already priced in? Markets are positioned for a relatively positive outcome in the trade-war, and that's manifesting in pockets of market activity. A true resolution in the trade war isn't expected, however an extension to be March 1 trade-truce-deadline seems to be. The overnight fall in US Treasuries, coupled with a topside break of copper's recent range, is a testament to this sentiment. The yield on the US 10 Year note has jumped back towards 2.70 percent, while the 3 month copper contract on the LME leapt another 0.83 per cent overnight. In G4 currencies, the US Dollar is stronger against the Euro and Pound, albeit very, very marginally, but weaker against the Yen.
The curious case of gold: Gold prices have dipped slightly courtesy of the stronger Dollar and greater confidence in the policy-outlook for the world's major central banks. The price of the yellow metal is sitting just above $1325 presently, as it continues its short term trend higher. One of the more divisive debates amongst traders currently is the outlook for gold. Like any market, time horizons are crucial to illustrating the trend for an asset's price.
Trade war truce already priced in? Markets are positioned for a relatively positive outcome in the trade-war, and that's manifesting in pockets of market activity. A true resolution in the trade war isn't expected, however an extension to be March 1 trade-truce-deadline seems to be. The overnight fall in US Treasuries, coupled with a topside break of copper's recent range, is a testament to this sentiment. The yield on the US 10 Year note has jumped back towards 2.70 percent, while the 3 month copper contract on the LME leapt another 0.83 per cent overnight. In G4 currencies, the US Dollar is stronger against the Euro and Pound, albeit very, very marginally, but weaker against the Yen.
The curious case of gold: Gold prices have dipped slightly courtesy of the stronger Dollar and greater confidence in the policy-outlook for the world's major central banks. The price of the yellow metal is sitting just above $1325 presently, as it continues its short term trend higher. One of the more divisive debates amongst traders currently is the outlook for gold. Like any market, time horizons are crucial to illustrating the trend for an asset's price.
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Galaxy Fold: Future or Gimmick Feature? - EMEA Brief 21 Feb
MichaelaIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Samsung announced the Galaxy Fold the first consumer available phone to feature a folding display. The new phone also comes with a $1,980 price tag.
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New platform feature: new visibility icon
DanielaIG posted a blog entry in IG Product Updates,
On the back of client feedback and to make the platform easier to navigate, we have now made the ‘show’ button easier to find by adding the toggle to the top of the charts.
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Ford Pulls Brakes on Brazil Factory - EMEA Brief 20 Feb
MichaelaIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
Ford announced plan to close a factory in Brazil, resulting in 2,800 job cuts. This follows as Ford pulls sale of heavy commercial trucks in South America.
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UK REAL ESTATE
ArthurHouse posted a topic in Shares and ETFs,
What are your thoughts on the UK housing marker? "This UK REIT pays a 10% dividend yield and recently consolidated shares showing signs of hitting the bottom. Not only is this security trading at a massive discount, but its future looks stronger with as the Brexit cloud passes over."
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HSBC misses earnings expectations- EMEA Brief 19 Feb
KatherineIG posted a blog entry in Market News,
HSBC fails to beat expectations for 2018 earnings, reporting 15.9 percent higher in pre-tax profit and 4.5 percent in revenue, in comparison to 2017, against the expected 23.8 percent increase in pre-tax profit and 6.28 percent for revenue
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