The dollar is steady on Friday following yesterday’s gains
Wall Street stocks finished lower overnight as investors took a pause after a local rally ahead of US inflation data due later today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost less than a point, the S&P 500 fell 0.72% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.7%. Economists expect the year-over-year growth rate in the CPI to be 6.7%, to mark the biggest move since June 1982. Furthermore, some market participants are projecting that the headline index (including food and energy) could exceed a 7% mark.
Following suit, Asian markets edged lower on Friday. Kospi shed 0.64% as new coronavirus infections in South Korea exceeded 7,000 for the third consecutive day today. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.4%. In individual stocks, China Evergrande Group shares lost 1.67% after Fitch downgraded it to restricted default status.
In Europe, equities opened lower on Friday amid renewed concerns about the omicron Covid-19 variant. Also, investors opted for caution ahead of US inflation data. On the data front, the UK GDP expanded less than expected in October, arriving at 0.1% vs. 0.4% expectations and 0.6% previous. The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.4% in early deals. US stock index futures were little changed in early premarket trade.
In currencies, the dollar is steady on Friday following yesterday’s gains. EURUSD has settled around the descending 20-DMA following rejection from the 1.1350 local barrier. As the common currency is back below the 1.1300 figure, long-term lows are now back in the market focus. The pair could see deeper losses in the short term if the dollar rallies ahead of the weekend. The immediate support now arrives at 1.1260, followed by 1.1230.
