The US dollar has steadied around the 104.00 figure, struggling for direction after a two-day rally
Wall Street stocks were mixed-to-lower on Tuesday following a mixed set of economic reports. The data on job openings in October showed slowing demand in the labor market, while ISM Services PMI exceeded consensus and previous figures by coming in at 52.7. ADP private payrolls numbers will be released later in the day. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the Dow gave up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3% as technology shares outperformed. In individual stocks, GitLab rallied more than 11% after the company exceeded quarterly financial expectations and revealed an upbeat guidance for the current quarter.
Following a broad sell-off during the previous session, Asian equities rebounded on Wednesday. Japan’s markets were leading the gains after the Tankan survey showed improving business sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers. As such, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.03% to rebound from a one-year low, while South Korea’s Kospi inched up less than 0.1%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.65% after the data showed that the country’s economy expanded 2.1% year-on-year in the third quarter, beating market expectations.
European markets opened higher on Wednesday, with the regional Stoxx 600 index gaining 0.3% to start the session as investors added to bets of ECB rate cuts next year. US stock index futures are also slightly higher with S&P 500 futures up 0.2%. Overall risk sentiment is looking more positive in the global financial markets. On the data front, Germany’s factory orders declined 3.7% in October when compared to a 0.2% increase reported in September. Meanwhile, industrial orders plunged at an annual rate of 7.3% in the reported month. Still, investors look upbeat, with the Dow Jones holding around all-time highs.
In currencies, the US dollar has steadied around the 104.00 figure, struggling for direction after a two-day rally. The USD index came off came off local lows seen around 102.50 last week for the first time since August. Now, the question is whether the greenback manages to hold onto gains and avoid another sell-off, especially as risk sentiment keeps improving in the global financial markets. Later in the week, the dollar could be affected by US employment data. On the upside, the immediate barrier arrives around 104.20, followed by the 104.55 mark.
