Non-Farm Friday as markets struggle to recover

October 4, 2019

A big day coming up for markets, with a stack of significant information scheduled for publication.

The USD continued to weaken on Thursday, sending paired currencies higher. The EURUSD opened at $1.09584 and was flat early, before dipping to a low of $1.09403 mid-session. It bounced off those lows, climbing to a high of $1.09989 late in the day. It gave up a chunk of those gains and is currently trading at $1.09720. The GBPUSD followed a similar path to the euro after opening at $1.22980 The pound was steady early in the day, dipping to a low of $1.22645 mid-session. It rallied off those lows, peaking at $1.24122 several hours later before giving up some of those gains late in the day. It is now trading at $1.23382.

The Dow took a breather overnight, trading in a tight range for most of the day. The index opened at 26,044.70 and traded within around 100 point for most of the day, only experiencing a short, sharp drop late in the day. The drop sent the Dow to a low of 25,743.49 before rebounding and hitting a high of 26,222.16 just as the session was closing. It is not far off those highs, currently trading at 26,193.09. Meanwhile, the Dax was closed due to a national public holiday.

The day ahead sees the release of a swathe of data, with the US in the spotlight once again. The US is publishing jobs-related data, including Non-Farm Employment Change, Average Hourly Earnings and Unemployment Rate. The economy is expected to add 145,000 jobs, up from 130,000 from the previous month, while wages are tipped to increase by 0.3%, down slightly from 0.4% recorded the month prior. The Unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 3.7%.

Other data published today includes:

Canada – Trade Balance, Ivey PMI

UK – Housing Equity Withdrawal

Europe – French Government Budget Balance

Australia – Retail Sales, HIA New Home Sales, RBA Financial Stability Review, RBA Assistant Governor Luci Ellis speaks

US – Trade Balance, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and FOMC Members Eric Rosengren, Lael Brainard, Esther George and Randal Quarles speak

 

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