A new year has begun and the US Dollar is first out of the gate. The DXY wasted no time on Tuesday, showing strength all day before closing 0.86% higher. With the potential of interest rate cuts looming over the horizon, many traders will have a USD short somewhere in their playbook this year, the question primarily being one of timing. Yesterday’s surge served as a punctual reminder to not jump the gun.
The late push in oil prompted by attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea late last year continued to fade as markets reopened this week. Intraday trading saw Brent Crude move higher initially before plummeting later in the day to close just under $76 a barrel, a move mirrored by WTI, which closed at $70.5 on Tuesday.
After a year of solid gains, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had a shaky start to the year, losing 1.63% on Tuesday. The S&P 500 also struggled, coming in 0.57% in the red after markets reopened. Over the last few sessions of the year, the index looked like it was set to challenge its previous all-time high but ultimately the old record stood firm. The Dow Jones escaped unscathed, opening the session low before finishing 0.07% in the black.
Worse than expected manufacturing PMI out of China contributed to the Hang Seng index losing 1.52% on Tuesday. Bank stocks in particular fared poorly in light of disappointing housing sector numbers. No movement in the Nikkei 225; Japanese markets not reopening until Thursday.
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