CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Mon Jul 22nd, Singapore Time zone UTC+8
Dollar Index +0.40%, 97.15
USDJPY, +0.37%, $107.82
EURUSD, -0.38%, $1.1217
GBPUSD, -0.24%, $1.2512
USDCAD, +0.14%, $1.3055
AUDUSD, -0.47%, $0.7043
NZDUSD, -0.23%, $0.6760
Price action for most of the day had been muted until Iran said it seized a British oil tanker and The Wall Street Journal reported that the Fed is signaling a 25-basis points rate cut at the July 30-31 FOMC meeting.
The report dampened hopes for a 50-basis points rate cut, which had already been on the decline after a Fed spokesman dialed down comments from NY Fed President Williams that were perceived as dovish. In turn, the fed-funds sensitive 2-yr yield increased four basis points to 1.82%, while the 10-yr yield increased one basis point to 2.05%. The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.4% to 97.15. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the implied likelihood for the quarter-point cut climbed to 77.5% from 39.8% on Thursday.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, -0.62%, 2,976.61
Nasdaq, -0.88%, 7,834.90
Nikkei Futures, -0.10%, 21,358.0
S&P 500 faded into the close and lost 0.62% on Friday, as geopolitical angst and expectations for a smaller Fed rate cut weighed on the broader market. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.88%, and the Russell 2000 lost 0.5%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.3%) fared slightly better, supported by shares of Boeing (BA 377.36, +16.25, +4.5%) after it announced a $4.9 billion charge for its 737 MAX grounding.
In other earnings news, Dow components Microsoft (MSFT 136.62, +0.20, +0.2%) and American Express (AXP 124.82, -3.58, -2.8%) beat earnings estimates, but the price action in shares was disappointing. MSFT was up as much as 3.1% today but faded alongside the broader market during the afternoon.