The safe-haven dollar has steadied after the recent ascent as risk sentiment has improved somehow
US equities advanced on Monday due to a rebound in tech stocks and some retreat in US Treasury yields. The S&P 500 added nearly 0.6%, the Nasdaq gained 1.05% and the Dow Jones advanced by less than 0.1%. In individual stocks, shares of Tesla shed more than 1% after the carmaker unveiled further reductions to its Model Y base price in China. On the positive side, chip-making giant Nvidia rose about 7% after Morgan Stanley reiterated Nvidia as a top pick ahead of earnings. Later in the day, investors will focus on US retail sales data from July.
Asian equities were mixed on Tuesday after China reported weak July consumer and business activity. Growth in retail sales declined to 2.5% over a year earlier in July from the previous month’s already low 3.1%. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China cut its interest rate on one-week loans to banks in an effort to shore up the struggling economy. Still, the Shanghai Composite Index lost less than 0.1% while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 1.1%. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.5% and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.38%.
In Europe, main stock markets were little changed in opening trade on Tuesday. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 0.4% after the UK reported an increase in unemployment. The UK unemployment rate jumped to a two-year high of 4.2% in the second quarter compared to the previous three months. US stock index futures are keeping more tentative in early pre-market deals, with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both up 0.1%.
The safe-haven dollar has steadied today after the recent ascent as risk sentiment has improved somehow. The USD index briefly peaked just below 103.50 on Monday before retreating partially to settle around the 103.00 psychological level that represents the immediate support for the time being. Depending on the upcoming US retail sales report, the greenback may see renewed buying pressure or suffer a local retreat amid profit-taking if the figures disappoint. On the upside, the nearest significant target now arrives around 103.45.
