Midday Stocks Report: Markets Quiet; Little Direction
Most markets drifted quietly in the absence of any major economic data or other stimuli.
Major stock markets, including the FTSE and DAX, included showed gains ranging from 0.18% up to 0.46% in the case of the CAC.
USD corrected some of its recent sharp gains versus most other currencies. Commodity markets also corrected, and it seemed that an approximate 1% jump in oil prices, on news of supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico, was the catalyst for the dollar move. EUR-USD has steadied in 1.47s after retreating from intraday highs near 1.4770, which approximately marked the two thirds recovery point of Friday’s losses.
Unlike other pairings, the dollar has failed to reach or break the low it saw against the euro on Friday. The outperformers today have been the AUD and NZD, having been the biggest underperformers in recent weeks. GBP-USD gave back most of an Asia-session gain as the London market reacted to the latest dour house price data.
Latest dollar rates (all bid) GBP 1.8672; AUD 0.8721 Swissy 1.0978 Euro 1.4709
US Treasurys edged higher in quiet trading in London as the corporate bond market remained very quiet amid the summer lull. The Treasury yield surve steepened, with the yield spread between the 2 and 1 year sectors widening by 1.5 basis points to 147.0 basis points from 145.5 on Friday.
Spot gold traded at USD 795.40, up 1.3% from late Friday in New York.