Afternoon Market Update – 04/01/2017 – by Jaz Singh
January 4, 2017The greenback is on the back foot in morning trade after the dollar index reached a 12 year high yesterday. This comes as markets await the release of FOMC minutes today which could dampen the sentiment behind the Trump trade. A risk-on appetite has boosted emerging market currencies with the South African rand the biggest beneficiary, up over 1.8 percent this morning. There is speculation that the Chinese government plans to support the yuan and control capital outflows, leading to a 0.8 percent rise in the currency. Off the back of positive inflation data in the Eurozone the euro has ticked higher, up 0.3 percent against the dollar before finding resistance at the 1.044 level. European stocks have receded slightly this morning following 4 consecutive days of gains, while the scene is different in the US with S&P500 futures currently pointing to upside at the cash open. The data slate is relatively light this afternoon with the aforementioned FOMC minutes the major highlight.
