CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Wed Sep 11th, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
U.S. Dollar Index, +0.07%, 98.35
USDJPY, +0.33%, $107.61
EURUSD, +0.01%, $1.1049
GBPUSD, +0.08%, $1.2357
USDCAD, -0.18%, $1.3145
AUDUSD, -0.06%, $0.6858
NZDUSD, -0.16%, $0.6414
Currency markets were quiet on Tuesday with little fresh economic prints to move currencies.
UK employment numbers were better than expected with wages rising at the fastest pace since June 2008 (4.0% vs expected 3.7%). Although Brexit turmoil has affected business sentiment and spending the slowdown has not trickled down to the labor market. Nevertheless, labor data tends to be the most sticky and lagging of the macro indicators so the true impact of Brexit could surface in a few months.
Treasury yields finished noticeably higher, as the crowded Treasury market continued to see less demand. The 2-yr yield increased nine basis points to 1.66%, and the 10-yr yield increased eight basis points to 1.70%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.07% to 98.35.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, +0.03%, 2,979.39
Nasdaq, -0.04%, 8,084.15
Nikkei Futures, -0.20%, 21,200.0
The S&P 500 (+0.03%) eked higher on Tuesday, finishing at its best levels of the day after trading with modest losses the whole day. Tuesday’s action saw investors continuing to rotate out of this year’s best-performing stocks for those perceived as having more potential value.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.3%) was lifted by its highest-priced component,Boeing (BA 369.49, +10.71, +3.0%), while the Russell 2000 (+1.2%) outperformed amid big gains in energy stocks. The Nasdaq Composite (-0.04%) finished just below its flat line amid relative weakness in shares of technology companies.
Value-oriented stocks, in this case those that have underperformed amid growth concerns, have come to life this week. Improved sentiment pertaining to growth and trade has contributed to this value trade, which was made most pronounced in the outperformance in the S&P 500 energy sector (+1.3%), SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 43.61, +1.18, +3.0%), and Dow Jones Transportation Average (+1.5%) on Tuesday.
In corporate news, Apple (AAPL 216.70, +2.53, +1.2%) held its annual product event where it unveiled its latest iPhone. The $4.99/month pricing for its TV+ streaming service came as a surprise to some and contributed to weakness in Netflix (NFLX 287.99, -6.35, -2.2%).