Morning Wrap (16.07.2024)

Indices from Asia and the Pacific are experiencing a mixed session despite a growth session on Wall Street. Chinese indices are losing between 0.40-0.50%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index is up 0.35%. Australia's S&P/ASX200 is down 0.10%, and Singapore's SG20cash contracts are down 0.15%.

The US100 and US500 closed Monday high at 5690 points and 20640 points respectively. The gains were dominated by smaller companies, with the US2000 index closing 2.15% higher at 2210 points. The gains were driven by growing speculation about Trump winning the November election and the first interest rate cut in September. 

Futures contracts for European indices indicate a flat opening of the cash session on the Old Continent. UK100 is down 0.05%, Dax is flat, as are FRA40, ITA40, and EU50.

In the forex market, the US dollar is gaining the most in the first part of the day. Against most currencies, USD is up 0.1% to even 0.4%, and the USDIDX dollar index is up 0.11% at 104.0000 points. Among the weakest currencies are the Japanese yen and the New Zealand dollar. USDJPY is up 0.45% to 158.7500 JPY per USD.

Japanese authorities are ready to take any possible action in the foreign exchange market due to the excessive depreciation of the Japanese yen admitted Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi at a regular press conference on Tuesday.

Hayashi declined to comment when asked whether intervention in the foreign exchange market took place on two consecutive days last week to support the yen. Hayashi acknowledged that the government is closely monitoring developments in the foreign exchange market and will be ready to take any possible action.

Two days after surviving an assassination attempt, former President Donald Trump appeared at the opening of the Republican National Convention with a bandage on his right ear. Donald Trump on Monday became the official Republican presidential nominee after receiving enough delegate votes at the Republican National Convention. 

Trump is expected to formally accept the party's nomination in a speech at the convention on Thursday.

Cryptocurrencies are seeing slight declines after yesterday's dynamic increases. Bitcoin is down 1.10% but remains above 64,000 USD, Ethereum is down 1.30% to 34,440 USD, and the smaller projects sector (ALTCOIN) is down 0.80%.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly given "preliminary approval" to at least three asset managers for their spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These are BlackRock (BLK.N), VanEck, and Franklin Templeton (BEN.N). Investors speculate that the ETFs will start trading as early as next Tuesday, July 23.

Approval depends on the applicants submitting final offering documents to regulators by the end of this week. An SEC spokesperson said the agency does not comment on individual filings.