European investors’ optimism for the Eurozone has reached a 3-year low according to a Sentix survey. The Sentix investor confidence for June came in at -28.9, the lowest score since May 2009, but still better than analysts’ expectations for a -30.0 survey result. Back in March of this year, the survey reached a six month high at -8.2, before the survey results declined for the next four straight months.
Breaking News Out of Italy
JP Morgan losses seriously diminish credibility in banking sector Political saga in Eurozone continues to shake investor confidence China economic data disappoints and weighs further on risk correlated assets Commodity bloc and emerging market FX exposed German; UK inflation mixed The intense risk-off price action that we saw over the past several sessions looked like it might be poised for reprieve into North America on Thursday, before markets got wind
Most of the major currency pairs continue to show significant correlations with the MSCI World Stock Index, suggesting that broad-based risk appetite trends remain dominant as drivers of price action. This puts thematic macro-level concerns – specifically, the durability of the US recovery and its ability to offset headwinds from Europe and China facing global growth – squarely at the forefront. The US economic calendar is relatively quiet, with headline event risk clustered at the end of the week as PPI and UofM Consumer Confidence readings cross the wires on Friday. This puts the onus on evaluating the extent of downward pressure.
The ongoing political turmoil in Europe continues to shake the markets, with the inability for Greece to form a government now fueling speculation that the country might soon exit the Eurozone. Although an exit by Greece would have only a minimal impact on the broader economy, given the country’s size, fears of contagion seem to be the bigger problem right now, as investors start to price in the impact this will have on larger economies like Spain and Italy.
Euro: French, Greek Elections Raises Risk For Breakup – 1.3000 Crucial British Pound: Correction In Focus, BoE To Discuss Exit Strategy Euro: French, Greek Elections Raises Risk For Breakup – 1.3000 Crucial The Euro tumbled to a fresh monthly low of 1.2954 as French President Francois Hollande overtook Nicolas Sarkozy as the president of France, while the two main parties in Greece failed to obtain a joint majority, and the
THE TAKEAWAY: PPI numbers come in lower than expected -> high energy prices continue to affect producers -> Euro trades within tight range Producer price inflation in the 17-nation Eurozone increased less than expected in March, representing the sixth consecutive monthly drop in the gauge. The month-on-month number came in at 0.6% vs. the 0.5% predicted by economists, while the yearly number was 3.3% versus the expected 3.4%. The numbers
The NZDUSD (Kiwi Dollar) currency pair is one riddled with uncertainty. It has spent the better part of 2012 heading higher from its January low at .7708. After moving as much as 677 pips to our standing high at .8385, the pair has faltered failing to advance further to challenge the pairs all time high at .8841.
Daily Winners and Losers The Japanese yen is the top performer against a stronger dollar at the close of European trade with loss of just 0.11% on the session. The greenback has continued to outperform all its major counterparts as markets remain on the defensive after a weaker than expected ADP employment report showed the addition of just 119K private sector jobs in April, missing consensus estimates for a print
THE TAKEAWAY: Manufacturing PMIs much weaker than expected -> Core countries hit by slowing demand from the European south -> Euro falls against US Dollar Weak readings from the European manufacturing sector sparked a bout of Euro weakness today. The weighty German manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 46.2 versus the expected 46.3. Beleaguered Italy was hit hardest, with the gauge coming in at 43.8 versus the expected 47.1.
