Market Update

Japan’s Nikkei ended the session lower on Friday after Wall Street tumbled overnight as concerns about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic dented omicron’s effect on risk appetite. The Nikkei closed down 1.28 percent, recording 28,124.28 points, after dropping more than two percent to approach its lowest level in four …

The market has stabilized, with the US dollar consolidating losses on Thursday. Risk appetite retreated, preventing the dollar index from falling further. Intraday gains of the American currency helped correct oversold conditions reached one day following Wednesday’s selloff.The Federal Reserve’s hawkish language was much assessed and digested in ahead of …

Gold futures edged lower on Thursday, with prices on track to post their first loss in five sessions, after a rise in the US producer price index reading for December came in below market expectations.It could be argued that the bullish case for gold is its reputation as an inflation …

Federal Reserve’s Christopher Waller said three hikes in 2022 are still a good baseline but he said if inflation stays high there could be four or even five hikes.Additional QuotesCould also allow the balance sheet to run off earlier.Doesn’t favour 50bps Fed hike in March.Could start shrinking Fed balance sheet …

Crude oil prices edged lower on Thursday as investors took profits after two days of gains amid fears of aggressive US interest rate hikes.Losses were cushioned by expectations of a strong economic recovery that will boost demand in a tightly supplied market. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled down …

Taiwan Semiconductor shares surged on Thursday, as the semiconductor manufacturer said fourth-quarter earnings topped Wall Street estimates and it would boost spending for 2022 well above last year’s levels.Taiwan Semiconductor shares closed at $139.19, gaining more than 5% and just off their 52-week high of $145. More than 51 million …

A new report from Rhodium Group suggested that the United States may have to play catch-up to regain progress in the fight against climate change following a year of volatile natural gas prices that led to more reliance on less expensive coal increased greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. In its …

The coming oil surplus could be much smaller than expected and could exert much less downward pressure on oil prices this year.Demand remains strong as signaled in the six-month futures spread in Brent which has more than doubled since hitting a low point in December.At the start of 2022, Omicron’s …

Global Central Banks Start Turning Off Cash TapsAs speculation grows about when the US Federal Reserve will begin reducing the size of its balance sheet, some analysts say the era of “quantitative tightening” has already started and “quantitative easing” is over.Central bank balance sheets have ballooned since the pandemic struck …

The EUR/USD pair buying hit overdrive on Wednesday, but the pace of gains has been more measured on Thursday. The pair is now consolidating in the 1.1450 area as traders assess whether the recent dollar long-squeeze is over.While the pair continues to trade with modest gains of about 0.1% on …