Daily Market Outlook from ACFX 08/21/2013

[Atlas CapitalFx]

Daily Market Outlook from ACFX 08/21/2013


Important Financial Indicators of the day


USD - 17:00 (GMT) - Existing Home Sales - Forecast 5.15M - Previous 5.08M
USD - 21:00 (GMT) - FOMC Meeting Minutes


Currencies

◾EUR/USD The dollar rose versus its Asia-Pacific counterparts as investors await the release today of
minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting for signals on
when it may curtail monetary stimulus.

◾The euro bought $1.3422 from $1.3417 yesterday, when it
reached $1.3452, the highest since Feb. 14. It was little
changed at 130.52 yen.

◾GBP/USD The British pound is reversing its
best monthly gain in a year against the Swiss franc as trading
patterns suggest its rise was too much, too soon.

◾The pound has climbed 2.8 percent in August versus a basket of 10 developed-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes, the biggest monthly gain since September 2011, as unemployment requests dropped more in July than economists forecast. Sterling bears view the data strength as temporary with the Bank of England remaining prepared to loosen monetary policy.

◾USD/CAD The Canadian dollar fell to the lowest in almost two weeks as oil, the nation’s biggest export, slid amid bets the Federal Reserve will slow monetary stimulus that has fueled demand for riskier assets as soon as next month. ◾The loonie, as Canada’s currency is nicknamed for the image of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, depreciated for a third day, losing 0.5 percent to C$1.0392 per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto. It touched C$1.0401, the weakest level since Aug. 8. One Canadian dollar buys 96.23 U.S. cents.



Commodities

◾Oil West Texas Intermediate crude swung
between gains and losses after declining the most in two months
yesterday amid speculation the Federal Reserve will taper
economic stimulus. Industry data showed U.S. supplies fell.

◾WTI for October delivery was at $104.90 a barrel, down 21
cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange
at 12:35 p.m. Singapore time. The volume of all futures traded
was about 29 percent below the 100-day average. The September
contract expired at $104.96 yesterday after losing 2 percent,
the most since June 20.

◾Brent for October settlement slid 35 cents to $109.80 a
barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The
European benchmark crude was at a premium of $4.90 to WTI. The
spread was $5.04 yesterday, the widest since June 28.

◾Gold fluctuated between gains and
losses before the U.S. Federal Reserve releases minutes from its
last meeting, which may provide clues on whether the pace of
stimulus will be slowed amid signs of increased bullion demand.

◾Spot gold gained and fell at least 0.3 percent, and was up
45 cents at $1,371.62 an ounce at 11:30 a.m. in Singapore.
Prices rose to a two-month high of $1,384.55 on Aug. 19. Assets
in the biggest exchange-traded product expanded for the fourth
time this month, while the volume for Shanghai’s benchmark spot
contract climbed to the highest in more than two weeks.



Equities

◾Asian stocks index fell for a fifth day to trade at the lowest level in six weeks before the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting.

◾The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.7 percent to 130.68
as of 12:20 p.m. in Hong Kong, with all 10 industry groups on
the gauge falling. The measure fell 3.3 percent in the past four
days to the lowest closing level since July 9.

◾European stocks fell for a second day, following Asian shares lower, amid speculation the Federal Reserve will curb its bond-buying program as soon as next month. ◾The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.8 percent to 302.25 at the close of trading, its lowest level since July 31. The equity benchmark has fallen 2.7 percent from its peak this year on May 22 as Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the U.S. central bank could pare stimulus measures if the economy improves in line with its forecasts.

◾U.S stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 snapping a four-day losing
streak, as retailers’ results surpassed estimates and investors awaited
signals on stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve.

◾The S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to 1,652.35 at 4 p.m. in New York. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.75 points, or less than 0.1 percent,
to 15,002.99, erasing earlier gains of as much as 0.4 percent. Almost
5.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 16 percent
below the three-month average, as more than three stocks rose for each
that fell.