- FOMC minutes turned out to be a largely non-event. Document noted that almost all participants saw lower rates at the end of 2024 than currently. However, it was also noted that circumstances may lead to rates being kept at high levels for longer than currently anticipated
- Minutes lacked strong, dovish hints and were seen as somewhat disappointing. Market reaction was hawkish but limited. USD gained while gold and equities moved lower
- Wall Street indices trade lower - S&P 500 drops 0.6%, Dow Jones trades 0.5% lower, Nasdaq declined 1% and small-cap Russell 2000 plunges over 2%
- European stock market indices traded lower today - German DAX and Italian FTSE MIB dropped 1.4%, French CAC40 moved 1.6% lower, Spanish IBEX declined 1.3% and UK FTSE 100 closed 0.5% lower.
- A bomb attack killed over 100 people at the memorial for Qasem Soleimani, Iranian commander killed in US drone strike in 2020, in Kerman, Iran. No country or party took responsibility for the attack, but Iran vowed to punish those responsible, sparking fears of further escalation in Middle East hostilities
- Oil jumped as it was reported that Sharara oil field in Libya begun a full shutdown in response to protests
- OPEC+ issued a joint statement re-affirming commitment to unity, following Angola's exit from the group last month
- Bitcoin slumped in the early afternoon on media reports suggesting that SEC will reject all Bitcoin spot ETFs in January, and a final approval of such vehicles may not come before Q2 2024
- However, Bitcoin recovered part of the losses later on after Fox reporter tweeted that SEC is set to meet with US exchange operators to finalize comments to Bitcoin spot ETF applications
- Fed Barkin said that there is a potential for additional rate hikes. Barkin also said that case for soft landing is developing in the data, but it is not inevitable
- US manufacturing ISM index climbed from 46.7 to 47.4 in December (exp. 47.1). Employment subindex came in at 48.1 (exp. 46.5), New Orders subindex dropped to 47.1 (exp. 49.1) and Prices Paid subindex dropped to 45.2 (exp. 49.5)
- US JOLTS report showed job openings at 8.79 million in November (exp. 8.85 million). However, October's data was revised higher from 8.73 million to 8.85 million, meaning that job openings dropped in November compared to the previous month
- German unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 5.9% in December, in-line with market expectations
- Turkish CPI inflation accelerated from 62.0 to 64.8% YoY in December (exp. 65.1% YoY). PPI inflation accelerated from 42.2 to 44.2% YoY
- Major cryptocurrencies haven't fully recovered from early-day declines - Bitcoin trades 5.4% lower on the day, Ethereum drops 6.3% while Dogecoin plunges 10.5%
- Energy commodities trade higher - oil gains 3% while US natural gas prices advance 3.9%
- Precious metals drop amid USD strengthening - gold trades 1.2% lower, platinum drops 1.3%, palladium declines 0.8% while silver slumps 3%
- GBP and USD are the best performing G10 currencies, while JPY and AUD lag the most
US dollar index (USDIDX) continues to gain and is attempting to close the day above the upper limit of a market geometry. Index tested the upper limit of the bearish channel earlier today but failed to break above. Source: xStation5
This content has been created by XTB S.A. This service is provided by XTB S.A., with its registered office in Warsaw, at Prosta 67, 00-838 Warsaw, Poland, entered in the register of entrepreneurs of the National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy) conducted by District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw, XII Commercial Division of the National Court Register under KRS number 0000217580, REGON number 015803782 and Tax Identification Number (NIP) 527-24-43-955, with the fully paid up share capital in the amount of PLN 5.869.181,75. XTB S.A. conducts brokerage activities on the basis of the license granted by Polish Securities and Exchange Commission on 8th November 2005 No. DDM-M-4021-57-1/2005 and is supervised by Polish Supervision Authority.
