US Market Wrap

Markets were quiet last week with the holiday weekend, but things look to be busy in the next few days, led by the latest US non-farm payroll data.

Equity markets continued to rally to close out the week in what is turning out to be a very strong month.

Similarly, the USD is still soft thanks to the uncertainty surrounding the US political situation, and that is not likely to change any time soon. While the result is up in the air for the next few months, we should expect to see more money flowing to the likes of equities and away from the USD.

The Data Agenda

We have a busy week of data ahead and some other key themes that we will need to stay on top of.

The main focus this week is clearly going to be US jobs on Friday with the release of non-farm payrolls. It is expected the jobless rate will fall to 6.8% from 6.9% with 500K new jobs being created.

Jobs are really a key theme for the next few months as the belief is that if Biden is able to win the election he will impose nationwide lockdowns. A vaccine becoming available might be the thing that could prevent these lockdowns and that is also looking like it is getting closer by the day as the health authorities are meeting this week to try and fast track a vaccine to those highest risk groups. 

Elsewhere this week, we have some important European data German PMI and also Eurozone inflation. Powell will be testifying which will make for some interesting listening.

The RBA is meeting as well, however, no change to monetary policy is expected.

Forex Signal Update

The FX Leaders Team hit 10 winners from 13 trades in what was a quiet week of news on the back of the US holiday.

Keep watching the forex signals page as there could be plenty of action today in what is a very busy week of news and data.

LTC – Active Signal 

LTC was extremely volatile last week as was the entire sector. Price fell away sharply before finding support at $65 and rebounding strongly. We remain long here but are prepared to buckle up and let this one play out.

DAX – Pending Signal 

The DAX is still looking quite bullish here. We’ve been monitoring this one closely, given the entire equity space is very strong. Buying on a pullback to resistance turned support, looks a good play at the moment.

Cryptocurrency Update

BTC and the rise (and mini fall) in the crypto space was the big story of last week.

We saw Bitcoin hit the $19,500 level before getting smashed down lower. Since that point, price has staged a very nice recovery and looks like it wants to have a go at running the highs again.

There are a number of serious fundamental drivers at the moment, including the political instability in the US, constant printing of money and the increased level of adoption. This all bodes well for the sector in my eyes, but we still need to trade the price action.