Morning wrap (24.08.2022)

• US indices finished yesterday's trading lower, although scale of declines was nowhere near as big as on Monday. S&P 500 dropped 0.22%, Dow Jones moved 0.47% lower and Nasdaq finished little changed (-0.03%). Russell 2000 was outperformer with a 0.18% gain

• Indices from Asia-Pacific region are trading mixed today. Nikkei and indices from China drop while S&P/ASX 200 and Kospi gain

• DAX futures point to a lower opening of the European cash session today

• Fed's Kashkari said that rates should remain high as long as inflation remains high and Fed will only relax on rate hikes when there is evidence of inflation approaching 2%

• Iran made a new proposal of returning to a nuclear deal. Proposal is said to be well received by EU and other major players but we are yet to hear from the United States. US is expected to respond to Iranian proposal today

• US President Biden is expected to make an announcement of student debt relief today

• According to Nikkei report, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida ordered development of new nuclear power plants amid spiking energy costs. Resuming operations of up to 17 reactors that were already shut was also agreed on and is expected to begin next summer

• API report on oil inventories pointed to a massive 5.63 million barrel draw (exp. -1.1 mb)

• Cryptocurrencies are trading mostly lower today but scale of moves is rather small. Bitcoin trades 0.3% lower while Ethereum drops 0.5%

• Oil is trading a touch lower with Brent dropping below $100 per barrel mark

• Precious metals post small gains - silver and platinum gain around 0.11% while gold traders flat

• USD and JPY are the best performing major currencies while AUD and NZD lag the most

Comments from Fed Kashkari helped US dollar which is one of the best performing G10 currencies this morning. Source: xStation5