Afternoon Market Update – 07/02/2017 – by Jazz Singh
February 7, 2017Dollar bulls have come back to the table, triggered by FOMC member Harker’s remarks yesterday evening outlining his support for a rate hike in March. As a result we’ve seen the dollar index rally 0.7 percent after breaking through the $100.00 level overnight. Weak house price data from the UK has extended the pound sell off from last week, falling 0.8 percent this session against its major counterparts. European bourses currently trade off their worst levels with the property sector leading the gains in the Stoxx Europe 600. The picture in US equity futures is mixed with the S&P500 pointing ever so slightly higher. In the commodity complex, we see crude oil extending its losses from yesterday’s session after US data forecast increasing oil stockpiles for a 5th consecutive week. As a consequence of the strengthening dollar, gold has retreated after 3 days of gains. Again we have a relatively light data slate with US trade balance and Canadian PMI figures the highlight.
