Morning Wrap (16.12.2024)

• We are starting a new week in the financial markets. The start of Monday's session is marked by Bitcoin, which has broken out to new historic highs above $106,000, gaining 2%.

• Other cryptocurrencies are also gaining, although it is the large-cap projects that are currently seeing the biggest increases. Ethereum is currently adding 2.1%.

• Asian stock markets, however, are dominated by declines. In China, weak retail sales data is reassuring investors that the domestic situation in the world's key economy is still not improving, pushing the stock prices of the various indices down. CHN.Cash is currently losing 0.5%.

• China's retail sales for November came in at +3.0% y/y (+4.6% was expected). At the same time, industrial production rose +5.4% y/y (+5.3% expected). House prices, meanwhile, fell by 5.7% y/y in November (previously -5.9%).

• Investors also learned of several reports from Japan. The preliminary December PMI manufacturing was 49.5 (previously 49.0). Services 51.4 (previously 50.5). Machinery orders for October +2.1% m/m (expected +1.2%).

• South Korea's parliament decided to impeach President Jun Suk Jeol after his controversial martial law decisions.

• Moody's cut France’s rating to "Aa3" from "Aa2", outlook stable, in an unscheduled rating revision, citing political fragmentation.

• In the FX market, the Swiss franc and Antipodean currencies are currently the best performers. However, the US dollar and the Japanese yen are trading under pressure.

• In the commodities market, we are currently seeing moderate price increases in precious metals. Crude oil and natural gas, on the other hand, are under downward pressure. 

• Today on the calendar, attention turns to PMI data from the world's major economies. Investors will also hear speeches from ECB Lagarde and BOC Macklem.

Heatmap showing the volatility currently occurring in the FX market. Source: xStation