- Trump on China trade: We'll see what happens
- Trump: I think Putin wants to end the war
- WH Adviser Hassett on China: Confident we can get back to place that is good for both
- BOC's Macklem: We're putting more emphasis on risk when it comes to the next rate decision
- Fed's Musalem: I could support a path with another cut if more risks to jobs
- BOE Greene: Core and services inflation are going sideways
- Atlanta Fed GDPNow estimate ticks up, despite the lack of economic data
- WTO chief: Urged de-escalation with officials from the US and China
Markets:
- Gold down $79 to $4245
- US 10-year yields up 3.5 bps to 4.01%
- WTI crude oil up 14-cents to $57.63
- CAD leads, EUR lags
- S&P 500 up 0.5%
The mood changed in markets early in US trading as Trump and his deputies did the rounds to repeatedly state that they expected a positive outcome with China. That sort of thing underscored the TACO trade and ultimately led to dip buyers winning. It wasn't easy though as heavy selling hit at various times and trading as choppy.
The big loser on the day was gold as it fell by as much as $120 at open point before recovering to leave a loss of just under 2%. It's the biggest retracement we've had yet and unnerved parts of the market.
An undercurrent in equities was a better mood on bank stocks. Yesterday, a $50 million writedown at Zions Bancorp was seen as something of a cockroach in the system but a second look put that into perspective on the banks $89 billion loan book, let alone the financial system. Credit card companies had dumped in the downdraft but were some of the biggest winners today.
In FX, the dollar wasn't a big mover as the drought of economic data continues. Yen strength early in the day reversed as nerves calmed while euro strength also reversed. The Canadian dollar benefited despite dovish comments from Macklem but all the moves in FX were limited to 30 pips.
Have a great weekend.
