Market Update

The end of another long week has Wall Street bracing for another rollercoaster ride as investors digest President Biden’s crucial call with Xi and await to see if any possible pathways emerge for ending the conflict in Ukraine, all while roughly $3.5 trillion of single-stock and index-level options expire.The days …

The US dollar index bounced back on Friday from recent declines following comments from Federal Reserve officials on interest rates that supported the currency, while the dollar was at a fresh six-year high against the yen and the euro eased.St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard called for a dramatic …

According to Russia’s Chief Negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, Russia and Ukraine’s views are most aligned on the latter’s status as a “neutral” country and offer not to join NATO, reported Russia’s state-run Interfax news outlet.Russia and Ukraine are currently discussing nuances linked to security guarantees for Ukraine should it refuse to …

Gold is set to register its largest one-week loss since November. In case next week’s developments point to a further escalation of the conflict, gold should gather strength and start erasing this week’s losses. On the other hand, the precious metal could come under renewed selling pressure if markets remain …

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said on Friday that he sees the Federal Funds target range rising to 1.75-2.0% by the year’s end and that he sees the neutral rate of interest at 2.0%, reported Reuters. If inflation is enduring, the Fed will need to get modestly …

China has plans to invade Taiwan as soon as next fall, according to Newsweek based on a Russian intelligence document.Traders are treating the report with skepticism. Many geopolitical analysts had viewed recent geopolitical events regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as likely to dissuade China from mounting an assault on Taiwan …

US Existing Home Sales over the last 12 months fell to 6.02M in February from 6.49M in January, larger than the expected drop to 6.10M, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors. That marked a 7.2% MoM drop in the 12-month rolling sales number in February versus …

The euro fell on Friday but was on track for its biggest weekly gain in six weeks as traders breathed a sigh of relief after Russia avoided defaulting on dollar-denominated debt and markets digested the broader impact of the start of the US interest rate hike cycle. The euro slipped …

Headline Canadian Retail Sales rose at a pace of 3.2% MoM in January, much stronger than the expected 2.4% gain, marking a strong rebound from December’s Omicron Covid-19 variant induced drop of 1.8% MoM, data released by Statistics Canada showed on Friday. Retail Sales excluding autos also saw stronger than …

3-month nickel contracts retraced 12% on Friday morning to new trading levels, as heavy selling continued in the international metals markets. The price reached 36,915 dollars per metric ton with the opening of trading on the London Metal Exchange. Nickel prices doubled within hours on March 8, surpassing $100,000 a …