The main highlight in ending the week for US markets was the non-farm payrolls release yesterday. It was a disappointing headline figure, which led to further downside in the dollar. In case you missed it: US June non-farm payrolls +57K vs +110K expected
Still, US stocks closed in a more mixed mood amid a big rotation into value stocks again. The Dow closed up by 1.1% while the Nasdaq fell by 0.8%. The balance led the S&P 500 to close flat in wrapping up the week. That being said, the big losers this week were rather evident. That being chipmakers and hardware stocks for the most part. However, big tech also suffered with notable drops in Meta, Tesla, and Nvidia.
Looking to the day ahead, expect liquidity conditions to be sapped in what should be a quieter wind down to end the week.
US markets are closed, so that will keep things in check for the most part. However, we will still have to keep an eye out for US-Iran headlines and how things are playing out in the Middle East.
Besides that, just keep a watchful eye on USD/JPY even if the currency pair has dropped back this week towards the 161.00 level. A period of lower liquidity might just see Japan's ministry of finance choose to step in, as they did back in early May.
