Key Points
- U.S. stocks rebound after Thursday’s blood bath
- Currencies and commodities tightly mixed
- Michigan Sentiment prints at 78.9 from talk of 75.0
Bias: Risk neutral
Commentary
U.S. stocks posted a strong bounce on Friday as short covering from Thursday’s carnage supported equities. Thursday saw the markets biggest fall in three months and Friday saw short-covering gains over the session. Outright buyers were still largely absent as Corona Virus infections continue to rise in some states.
Very little activity in the currency market on Friday with the Dollar largely flat against most of the majors. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment data was slightly better than expected, but not enough to cause shock waves. Comments from Fed’s Thomas Barkin that he does not see negative rates in the U.S. were largely shrugged off.
Gold and oil prices were both slightly weaker, with position adjustment seen as the main culprit.
Bias
Expect yet another quiet start to the week in Asia, with a decided lack of fresh cues from offshore trading. Data today sees Chinese Industrial Production an Retail Sales along with Euro-zone Trade, along with the U.S. Empire State Manufacturing Index.