It was a wild week in stock markets as a huge post-FOMC jump turned into a crash lower. The Nasdaq is now down 10% from the highs, matching the mark for a technical correction.

On the day:

• S&P 500 -1.8%
• Nasdaq -2.4%
• DJIA -1.5%
• Russell 2000 -3.6%

On the week:

• S&P 500 -2.1%
• Nasdaq -3.3%
• DJIA -2.1%
• Russell 2000 -6.7%

If there is a silver lining, it’s that there was some moderate late-day buying and stocks finished off the lows.

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

This is a good spot for a bounce in many things.

There are many times when the strong hands in the market would step in here; the economy isn’t that bad, there’s no financial crisis and companies are still making money. Yes, the Fed is behind the curve but they have more ammunition than they’ve had this century.

There are a few reasons that’s a tough trade to make right now:

1. Year-to-date gains have been great. Most assets are up meaningfully this year and fund managers are sitting on +15% gains. Do you really want to risk that in August? You can buy a five-month t-bill and tease out another 2% from the sidelines, then re-assess in early 2025.
2. Liquidity is hard to come by. I think this is increasingly a problem. There is so much algo trading, leverage and crowding that when the dance stops, there is no one left to buy. That’s leading to unusually large moves in the biggest stocks and in bonds.
3. Seasonals are tough in Aug/Sept. Even if you don’t want to wait out the whole year, that’s a good case to take a breather here and tune into the Olympics instead.
4. Fed pricing is aggressive. Should the Fed cut 50 bps at the next two meetings? Yes. Will they? I think the probabilities in the market are too high. The Fed will be stubborn, as comments from Barkin and Goolsbee today indicated.

All that said, I can see the case for a bounce for a few days next week as the market settles down after an emotional week but I don’t see real money chasing it for the reasons above. Watch the Nikkei closely at Monday’s open for a clearer hint.

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

The Nasdaq is down 10.4% from the high just three weeks ago but when you zoom out, it’s more of a minor correction after an incredible rally.

If stocks can steady here, this episode will be quickly forgotten.

The problem is that we could see more selling and here is the case for it:

• AI has driven so much of the trade and a re-think in that could lead to heavy selling in the Mag 7
• The Fed isn’t likely to acquiesce to market pricing of 50 bps easily

I think we will see some kicking and screaming from the market before the Fed finally listens and that that point it will be even further behind the curve. I don’t see Fed officials being easily bullied by the fall in the stock market.

So what if the market falls further?

That’s when it gets interesting. More than ever, the stock market is the economy. A generation ago, the economy and the stock market were more separate but they’ve grown more closely aligned with an increasingly online and financialized economy.

I think the rally in the stock market in the past 20 months has been a tailwind for US growth but a retracement would be the opposite. Again, it’s going to take more than 10% in the Nasdaq (and probably more than 20%) but if that comes at the same time as job losses, it could spark a recessionary mindset that will be tough to overcome, especially at a time of US political angst.

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

Headlines:

• Preview: July non-farm payrolls lands in a worried market
• What are the distribution of forecasts for the US NFP?
• Equities stay pressured so far in European morning trade
• A couple of August trends to watch out for in FX
• Switzerland July CPI +1.3% vs +1.3% y/y expected
• Switzerland July manufacturing PMI 43.5 vs 43.8 expected

Markets:

• EUR leads, USD lags on the day
• European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 1.2%
• US 10-year yields down 4.4 bps to 3.933%
• Gold up 0.7% to $2,461.51
• WTI crude up 0.2% to $76.44
• Bitcoin up 0.2% to $64,767

It’s shaping up to be another rough day for equities, at least in the first half of things. The second half comes later in US trading and will feature the non-farm payrolls report. That will be a key factor in driving the market mood before the weekend comes along.

But for now, the selling pressure since yesterday hasn’t really abated. In Japan, the Nikkei fell by nearly 6% in posting its worst daily decline since the Covid pandemic. That set the tone as European traders got to their desks in the morning.

The selloff wasn’t just contained to tech shares as banking stocks are also heavily impacted. In Europe, most major indices are down over 1% as the negative sentiment persisted. That comes with US futures also dribbling lower during the session. S&P 500 futures are now down 1.2% with Nasdaq futures down 1.7%. Meanwhile, Dow futures are down 0.9% and Russell 2000 futures are down 2.3%.

In FX, USD/JPY is keeping lower with the dollar also seen slightly on the softer side today. The pair is down 0.2% to near 149.00 with EUR/USD up 0.4% to 1.0830 currently. Besides that, USD/CHF is down 0.3% to 0.8700 while commodity currencies are lightly changed against the greenback amid the more defensive risk mood.

In the bond market, yields continue to hang lower with 10-year Treasury yields building on the drop under 4%. The flight to safety is arguably a contributing factor and that is also propping up the likes of gold, which is up 0.7% to just above $2,461 currently.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

Fundamental
Overview

The USD got a boost
yesterday following an ugly US ISM Manufacturing PMI as the markets went into risk-off. Overall, we had goldilocks data releases
until now with an economy that’s been slowing but still growing. So, one bad
report might not be a gamechanger, but the markets are increasingly sensitive
to bad news in this part of the cycle.

On the monetary policy
front, we had the FOMC rate decision on Wednesday and as expected it was
a dovish one. Fed Chair Powell hinted to a September rate cut and didn’t even
close the door for “several” rate cuts before the end of the year. The market
has now fully priced in three rate cuts by the end of the year and continues to
raise the chances of a 50 bps cut in September.

The EUR, on the other hand,
has been on a steady fall as we got the unwinding of the Yen carry trades and
general risk-off sentiment. On the monetary policy front, the ECB members
continue to repeat that they will wait for the data throughout the summer
before deciding on a rate cut in September, so even if this
week’s CPI came in higher than expected, they will also look at the data in
August to decide whether or not to cut in September.

The market is seeing 60 bps
of easing before year-end and 77% probability of a rate cut in September. This
has increased recently because of the US recession fears in the markets.

EURUSD Technical
Analysis – Daily Timeframe

On the daily chart, we can
see that EURUSD broke through the 1.0812 support yesterday and came back to retest it this
morning. This is where we can expect the sellers to step in with a defined risk
above the level to position for a drop into the 1.0727 level next. The buyers,
on the other hand, will want to see the price breaking decisively above the level
to pile in and position for a rally into the 1.09 handle.

EURUSD Technical Analysis – 4 hour Timeframe

On the 4 hour chart, we can
see that we have a downward trendline defining the current bearish
momentum. We can expect the sellers to keep leaning on it with a defined risk
above it to position for new lows. The buyers, on the other hand, will want to
see the price breaking higher to gain more conviction and increase the bullish
bets into the 1.09 handle.

EURUSD Technical
Analysis – 1 hour Timeframe

On the 1 hour chart, we can
see that the price is now testing the trendline. What happens here will likely
be key as a breakout to the upside might trigger a strong rally, while a strong
rejection could see a selloff into the 1.0727 support. Beware of the US NFP
report today as we can get spikes on either side. The red lines define the average daily range for today.

Upcoming
Catalysts

Today we conclude the week with the US NFP report where the consensus expects
175K jobs added in July and the Unemployment Rate to remain unchanged at
4.1%.

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at www.forexlive.com.

Fundamental
Overview

The USD got a boost
yesterday following an ugly US ISM Manufacturing PMI as the markets went into risk-off. Overall, we had goldilocks data releases
until now with an economy that’s been slowing but still growing. So, one bad
report might not be a gamechanger, but the markets are increasingly sensitive
to bad news in this part of the cycle.

On the monetary policy
front, we had the FOMC rate decision on Wednesday and as expected it was
a dovish one. Fed Chair Powell hinted to a September rate cut and didn’t even
close the door for “several” rate cuts before the end of the year. The market
has now fully priced in three rate cuts by the end of the year and continues to
raise the chances of a 50 bps cut in September.

The CHF, on the other hand,
has been gaining steadily against the major currencies because of the risk-off
sentiment. On the monetary policy front, today’s Swiss CPI report came in line with
expectations matching the last month’s readings. This continues to show that there’s
no need for the central bank to worry about inflation. The probabilities for
another rate cut in September are currently at 77% with a total of 40 bps of
easing expected before year-end.

USDCHF
Technical Analysis – Daily Timeframe

On the daily chart, we can
see that USDCHF is falling below the 0.8730 support as risk-off sentiment continues to dominate
the markets. We can expect the sellers to increase the bearish bets on this
break and position for a drop into the 0.8550 level next. The buyers, on the
other hand, will want to see the price rising back above the support to start
positioning for a pullback into the 0.88 handle.

USDCHF Technical
Analysis – 4 hour Timeframe

On the 4 hour chart, we can
see that from a risk management perspective, the sellers will have a much
better risk to reward setup at the trendline
around the 0.88 handle. The buyers, on the other hand, will want to see the
price breaking above the trendline to increase the bullish bets into the next
major trendline around the 0.8950 level.

USDCHF Technical
Analysis – 1 hour Timeframe

On the 1 hour chart, we can
see that we have another minor trendline defining the current bearish momentum.
The sellers will likely keep on leaning on it to position for further downside.
The buyers, on the other hand, will want to see the price breaking higher to
gains some more confidence and pile in for a rally into the 0.88 handle. The
red lines define the average daily range for today.

Upcoming
Catalysts

Today we conclude the week with the US NFP report where the consensus expects
175K jobs added in July and the Unemployment Rate to remain unchanged at
4.1%.

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at www.forexlive.com.

Here’s a snapshot of things as a whole:

• Eurostoxx -1.6%
• Germany DAX -1.5%
• France CAC 40 -0.9%
• UK FTSE -0.6%
• S&P 500 futures -1.1%
• Nasdaq futures -1.8%
• Dow futures -0.8%
• Russell 2000 futures -2.2%

The selling is pretty much broad-based as seen above, so it’s not quite just limited to tech.

In FX, the dollar is slightly weaker across the board today but the changes are relatively light. EUR/USD is up 0.3% to 1.0820 with its 100-day moving average at 1.0792 still holding. Meanwhile, USD/JPY is down 0.3% to 148.90 as sellers continue to stay in control on the week.

All eyes are now fixated on the US jobs report later to see if that might change up the mood before the weekend.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

Let’s get straight to it.

On paper, August is the worst month for AUD/USD and pretty much the aussie in general. Over the last 20 years, the pair has fallen in 16 out of the last 20 August months. It’s almost the polar opposite of what February typically is for AUD/USD. If you look at AUD/JPY, the trend is rather similar as well:

That might be a bit of an indication that August is typically one of the worst months for risk trades in general. In fact, it’s one of the worst months for major indices in Europe. For the DAX, August is the worst performing month seasonally while for the CAC 40, it is the second-worst (only June is worse).

Or if you want to tie things more closely to the yen currency, August is also the second-worst month for the Nikkei (only January is worse). And it is already off to a disastrous start to the month as seen here.

As for USD/JPY though, August has been a bit of a softer month historically. But in recent years, there is a bit of a different pattern emerging:

In the last four years, the pair had risen in June then fallen in July before coming back up in August. So far this year, the pair also climbed in June and fell during July trading. Will we see a bounce in August as such? Of course, things are quite different now with the BOJ having just hiked its policy rate and Japan having intervened in the market last month.

These are arguably the more interesting seasonal patterns for FX in August trading. But there are a couple of other ones to be mindful of in broader markets. Of note, August is usually the worst month for copper.

But I guess you can also tie that to being a poor month for risk in general over the years. And it’s definitely not a given as July has been a strong month for copper typically, but last month the metal fell by nearly 4%. Price is now trading inches away from its 200-week moving average at $4.01, so that will also be a key technical level to be mindful of.

And looking to the last 10 years, August also marks one of the best months for 10-year Treasuries i.e. yields falling. So, that’s also in part a tailwind associated with the yen currency. And we’re already getting to that early on with yields breaking below 4% following the Fed earlier this week.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

• BOE will decide appropriate degree of restrictiveness at each meeting
• Not giving any view on the path of rates to come (when asked about a „one and done“)
• We will go from meeting to meeting, making judgement based on evidence
• Does not want to comment on market curve on rate cuts

It doesn’t look like he will want to pre-commit to anything nor does he rule out the notion that they may pause after cutting rates today. As things stand, traders are pricing in a ~55% probability of another rate cut in September. Pretty much another judgement call it would seem. The BOE will meet next on 19 September and there will be two CPI reports to watch before then (14 August and 18 September).

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

• Services price inflation and domestic inflation pressures remain elevated
• There might be a slight rise in services price inflation in August, before easing for the rest of the year
• Watching services prices very carefully
• Should not adjust our course with every data surprise that comes in
• There is still a question on whether persistent component of inflation can return to 2% sustainably
• Need to make sure policy is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2% target
• Appropriate to adjust policy restrictiveness a little at today’s meeting

This is mainly a rehash of the statement. So, there isn’t really anything new as he continues to highlight that there are still risks to the inflation outlook. On to the Q&A now. GBP/USD is still down 0.5% on the day at 1.2785 but settling a little higher after the decision earlier.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.