Apple Stock Get Smashed. The Fed’s Next Up To Bat. The big question, which market participants will be looking for hints on, is of course when they will hike again. A Close Look At USDJPY: The short USD/JPY (or long JPY) trade is definitely one of these openly public trades that every man and his dog knows about, talks about, reads about, etc. Draghi Fires Back! Despite leaving rates and asset purchases unchanged, Mario Draghi and the ECB still managed to create volatility within some of the most liquid markets in the world.
Apple Stock Get Smashed. The Fed’s Next Up To Bat.
27.04.2016 The U.S Federal Reserve have been meeting over the last two days and will come together this evening at 1900 (BST) to announce their rate decision. Of course rates are expected by almost every man and his dog to remain still at 0.5% at this meeting. The big question, which market participants will be looking for hints on, is of course when they will hike again. However, with no press release scheduled for this month’s meeting, the trading volatility is likely to be more immediate as it’s all down to the decision itself along with the statement; there won’t be any phrases or words to be interpreted, just a number and some written text. The main market everyone will be following throughout the speech will of course be EURUSD along with other dollar currency pairs. No doubt there will be some volatility from the majors, however following Apple’s poor earnings, we have seen a bit of a stumble in the S&P 500 and with the FOMC today, it is possible we could see some nice volatility in the major U.S Stock Index. Currently, the U.S stock markets are trading pretty close to their all time highs. The S&P 500 is struggling around the 2100 area, and with Apple coming off as much as it did, we could see further declines over the coming days. For now keep an eye on any nice looking sell signals around short term resistance for shorting possibilities.
A Close Look At USDJPY
26.04. 2016 When a publicly obvious trade gets overdone, there will inevitably be a correction. The short USD/JPY (or long JPY) trade is definitely one of these openly public trades that every man and his dog knows about, talks about, reads about, etc. If you haven’t, then I’m sorry but you’ve been living under a rock. Go outside, the sun is shining! What you as traders have to ask is, ‘how long is too long?’ With both FOMC and the BoJ coming up at the end of the week, if a portion of the crowd starts to close their short USD/JPY positions then the long side could start to gain some traction – and quick! Add in some BoJ rhetoric that grabs and we could see some instant re-pricing. But what makes this time any different from the last few months that the market has ignored whatever the BoJ chooses to spurt from their lips? The other side of the coin, probably the common sense side if you’re one to continue following the trend, is that this rally is an opportunity to sell into. Looking at the chart below, we’re going to come into resistance at 112.85 to the 114 area and the play could easily be a fake-out higher into Thursday and then a huge slap back down again to new lows.
Draghi Fires Back!
22.04.2016 Despite leaving rates and asset purchases unchanged, Mario Draghi and the ECB still managed to create volatility within some of the most liquid markets in the world. The European Central Bank left the benchmark interest rate at 0.0%, the deposit rate at -0.4% and the QE program steady at €80 billion per month yesterday afternoon (BST). Of course this was all expected. What wasn’t as expected was the fiery comments passed back and forth during the press conference. Draghi was clearly frustrated and even had moments of visible anger during the conference. He ended up going on a full blown offensive strike against the recent comments made by the German finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäeuble. Last week Schäeuble directly questioned the ECB’s current policy regarding negative interest rates and increased QE. He was in essence raising concerns in regards to German pensioners and savers, who have seen their own ability to save severely handicapped. Mario Draghi didn’t hold back at all yesterday though, showing that he clearly won’t stand down and is up for a fight if challenged. He raised his voice during numerous comments stating: “Any time the credibility of a central bank is perceived as being put into question, the result is a delay in the achievement of its objectives – and therefore the need for more expansion.” Draghi may have already fired the last rocket from the ECB’s QE bazooka, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from firing off a few rounds from the pistol at his hip… at his own men.
