The major indices are closing higher for the day with the Nasdaq leading the way. The Dow and the S&P are also higher. The small cap Russell 2000 is closing lower but is higher on the week.

The final numbers are showing:

• Dow Industrial Average rose 36.86 points or 0.09% at 43275.91
• S&P rose 23.20 points or 0.40% at 5864.67
• Nasdaq rose 115.94 points or 0.63% at 18489.55
• Russell 2000. – 4.76 points or -0.21% at 2276.09

For the trading week, the major indice rose for the six consecutive week:

• Dow industrial average rose 0.96%
• S&P index rose 0.85%
• NASDAQ index rose 0.80%
• Russell 2000 rose 1.85%

The six week winning streak is the largest since late 2023

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.

• US Sept housing starts 1.354m vs 1.350m expected
• Bostic: Neutral policy rate is in the 3-3.50% range
• Fed’s Bostic: We may see a lull in activity and spending around the election
• Baker Hughes US oil rig count +1
• Fed’s Waller does not comment on monetary policy or the economic outlook
• Biden: Understands how and when Isreal will respond to Iran missile attack
• ECB’s Makhlouf: I do not believe rates should have been cut faster
• Atlanta Fed GDPNow remains unchanged 3.4% for the third quarter
• Putin: A BRICS unified currency is premature

Markets:

• Gold up $27 to record $2719
• US 10-year yields down 2 bps to 4.07%
• WTI crude oil down $1.27 to $69.40
• S&P 500 up 0.3%
• JPY leads, CAD lags

Happy Friday and an especially happy on to the gold bugs, who are being richly rewarded with a 4-day rally and a fresh all-time high. The bids were strong and steady with dips being bought, despite much better sentiment in Chinese equities today (MCHI up 4.4%).

The upbeat mood in China led to a decent retracement in the US dollar and erased most of yesterday’s retail-sales-driven bid. The thinking is that a stronger economy in China will spill over to Europe and world growth, narrowing the gap with the US. The market is also getting excited about 2025 growth in general as equities continue to send positive signals.

The euro rebounded from a two-month low yesterday and gained 33 pips on the day in steady bids up to 1.0864 as the market tries to sniff out a 50 bps cut in December (odds at 23%). Perhaps that reflects optimism that inflation will stay low in light of another decline in oil prices.

The pound climbed back above 1.30 but carved out a minor double top ahead of 1.3075 and that’s a level to watch next week. Last at 1.3042.

Running against the upbeat trend was the loonie, once again. That was largely an oil trade but eyes are also on the Bank of Canada decision next week as the market prices in a 50 basis point rate cut, with the odds now up to 93%.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.

The earnings season heats up a bit next week with Tesla, Boeing, AT&T, and Coca-Cola leading the way.

Monday

After Close:

• SAP (SAP)
• Nucor (NUE)
• Logitech (LOGI)
• Zions Bancorporation (ZION)

Tuesday

Before Open:

• Verizon (VZ)
• General Motors (GM)
• 3M (MMM)
• RTX (RTX)
• Freeport McMoRan (FCX)
• GE Aerospace (GE)
• Lockheed Martin (LMT)
• Sherwin-Williams (SHW)

After Close:

• Enphase Energy (ENPH)
• Baker Hughes (BKR)
• Seagate Technology (STX)
• Texas Instruments (TXN)

Wednesday

Before Open:

• Boeing (BA)
• AT&T (T)
• Coca-Cola (KO)
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO)
• CME Group (CME)
• Boston Scientific (BSX)
• General Dynamics (GD)

After Close:

• Tesla (TSLA)
• Lam Research (LRCX)
• IBM (IBM)
• ServiceNow (NOW)
• Viking Therapeutics (VKTX)
• T-Mobile (TMUS)
• Sands (LVS)

Thursday

Before Open:

• American Airlines (AAL)
• UPS (UPS)
• Southwest Airlines (LUV)
• Nasdaq (NDAQ)
• Carrier (CARR)
• Tractor Supply Company (TSCO)

After Close:

• Dexcom (DXCM)
• Deckers Brands (DECK)
• Western Digital (WDC)
• Skechers (SKX)

Friday

Before Open:

• New York Community Bancorp (NYCB)
• Colgate-Palmolive (CL)
• Piper Sandler (PIPR)

The bigger names are still week or more away:

– Nvidia: November 14- Meta – October 30- Apple – October 31- Amazon – October 31- Alphabet/Google – October 29- Microsoft – October 30-

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.

There are some small wins for seller in the USDJPY from a technical perspective:

• The price stalled ahead of a topside trend line yesterday on the hourly chart (see chart above) . The inability to get to the level is a small negative.
• The price fell below an upward-sloping trend line on the hourly chart above near 149.61
• The price fell below the 100-hour MA at 149.61
• The price run-up to extend above the 150.00 level, but only extended to 150.313 before rotating back to the downside.
• The move higher fell short of the 50% midpoint of the move down from the July high at 150.757 (see daily chart below).
• It also fell short of its falling 100-day moving average just above that level on the daily chart (see chart below).

Those are little chinks in the bullish bias that may be a downward clue.

What has not happened that would increase the bears control at least in the short term?

• The swing high from August 15 comes in at 149.356. The price has tested that level, but has NOT broken below the level (see 4-hour chart below).

• The price has NOT broken below the rising 200-hour MA at 149.242 (and moving higher). The price has not traded below that MA since October 2 (see the green line on the hourly chart).

The little breaks and bearish nuances are good news for sellers looking for more downside, but there is more work to do.

Nevertheless, if the price can stay below the 100-hour moving average 149.610 (and broken trend line at the same level) , the sellers have some hope for the start of something more/some more downside probing in the new week.

Fundamentally, if the BOJ sees more global stability. If China starts to show signs of bottoming or if China continues to stimulate. If the BOJ hints of more hikes to come, there could be a reversal. Also if US growth starts to weaken from strength or the Fed continues to recalibrate, the USDJPY can also correct lower (or reverse back down).

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.