STATE OF THE MARKETS

Dollar rally continues on hawkish FOMC minutes. As US stocks continue to close mixed on Wednesday, with Nasdaq (+0.44%) and S&P (+0.23%) climbed higher while Dow (-0.03%) slide lower; Dollar (DXY) rally continues after FOMC minutes revealed Fed’s readiness to hike sooner shall inflation rise further. Dollar almost pierced the 97 figure as bond demand return pushed yields lower, with the 10Y benchmark dropping back to 164 basis points.

In the commodities market, crude stalled around $78.50/bl as markets waited for producers’ response to release of strategic reserves. Gold was on firm bids at the $1,780/oz mark as more than $970 million worth of block order hit the futures markets while iron ore climbed further to $94/tn on demand expectation from the US infrastructure projects.

In the FX space, Loonie seized the helm of demand from King Dollar in the short term accounts, while Dollar demand remained elevated in the medium and long term accounts. Medium term traders seemed more bearish as Swiss and Yen advanced further in the demand territories ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. US markets will be closed on Thursday and half day on Friday for the holiday weekends. We wish our North American traders a Happy Thanksgiving!