Worse than expected Services and Manufacturing PMI data in Germany, France, and the UK stoke fears of impending recession and trigger a selloff in the Euro, with the British Pound also weak.
- Data was released today on services and manufacturing expectation in Germany, France, and the UK. Every single data point came in notably weaker than expected, raising fears of an impending Eurozone recession by providing clear evidence of slowing economic activity in the major Eurozone nations. The Euro is today the weakest major currency in the Forex market, while the New Zealand Dollar is the strongest.
- Stock markets are mixed today, with the Chinese Hang Seng Index ending the day down by more than 1%, while the Japanese Nikkei 225 ended the day firmly higher, and major US indices also saw small increases since the off-hours markets opened a few hours ago.
- There will be a release later today of US Services & Manufacturing PMI data.
- Gasoline futures reached a new 3-month high on Friday while Cocoa futures ended last week very close to the long-term highs which were printed just a few days ago. Both assets will be of interest to trend traders on the long side.
- The US Dollar is continuing to post gains as markets look ahead to Wednesday’s expected 0.25% rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.