Daily Market Analysis By FXOpen

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The US Continues to Trump the Euro Economy on Key Metrics, But What Is Next?

A clear measure of public confidence in a national economy, as well as the ability to access a key component of it, is how many new homes are being sold compared to previous months.

There are a number of important factors that point to the overall health of a nation and its population's finances, which are demonstrated by this, for example, the ability for people to access mortgages and pay reasonable interest on the repayments, creditworthiness and the ability to repay those mortgages, and enough confidence that there will be a market for the homes that a construction company would see fit to invest in buying the land and endure the upfront costs of building homes.

Today, in the United States, new home sales figures for January 2024 will be announced, and the expected figure, according to many economic calendars, is around 680,000 new homes sold in January this year compared to 664,000 in the same period last year.

Interest rate increases have burdened mortgage holders as well as those making repayments on unsecured borrowing over recent years, and the same interest rate increases have caused corporations - including homebuilders - to have to pay more toward their monthly borrowing over this period of high-interest rates.

By their very nature, interest rate rises are designed to curb spending in order to reduce inflation, and in the context of property construction and purchase by domestic customers, it is clear that a rising interest rate would likely have an effect on buyers as well as construction companies.

However, the strength of the US economy has once again shown its mettle over the past few days, as the US Dollar has been strong against other majors. Looking at the EURUSD pair, considerable volatility has been evident. At 9.10 am UK time this morning, the EURUSD was trading at 1.08347, which shows a slight upturn in fortune for the Euro, which on February 20 had stood at 1.07750.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

 

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Exchange Rates Consolidate at the Beginning of the Week

Trading participants continue to evaluate the prospects for a change in the US Federal Reserve's monetary course against the backdrop of the publication of the minutes of the January meeting. Officials reiterated their cautious stance on lowering borrowing costs and, moreover, expressed concern about the possibility of shifting too early to dovish rhetoric. The document strengthened investor confidence that the adjustment of parameters could be postponed until the second half of the year, which strengthens the US dollar’s position against its main competitors: at the moment, more and more investors are counting on the first adjustment to borrowing costs in June, but these expectations are also regularly revised. In the US, the publication of January statistics on the dynamics of sales of new homes is expected during the day: in the previous period, the figure increased by 8.0% month-on-month to 0.644 million units. On Tuesday, February 27, the US will release February statistics on durable goods orders and consumer confidence. Forecasts suggest a slowdown in the dynamics of orders for durable goods excluding transport from 0.5% to 0.2%.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD pair shows a slight decline, holding at 1.0820. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.0888, a break higher could trigger a rise towards 1.0960. On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.0812, a break below could take the pair towards 1.0760.
Today investors will pay attention to the speech of ECB head Christine Lagarde. In the EU, February data on inflation dynamics will be presented at the end of the week: the consumer price index is expected to slow down from 2.8% to 2.5% in annual terms, and the core indicator - from 3.3% to 2.9%. Traders continue to evaluate German data on GDP and business optimism released on Friday. Thus, the German economy in the fourth quarter of 2023 lost another 0.3% on a quarterly basis and 0.4% on an annual basis. The IFO business optimism index in February adjusted from 85.2 points to 85.5 points, which coincided with analysts’ forecasts, the indicator for assessing the current situation remained at 86.9 points with expectations at 86.7 points, and the economic expectations index increased from 83.5 points to 84.1 points, while experts expected 84.0 points.

Technical analysis of EUR/USD shows that a new upward channel has formed based on last week’s highs. Now the price is near the lower border and may continue to rise.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

 

[FXOpen Trader]

AMZN Share Price Hits 25-Month High After Inclusion in DJIA Index

As of February 26, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is no longer used in the calculation of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replaced by Amazon (AMZN).

The planned index rebalancing was carried out because:
→ Walgreens shares currently have the lowest price among all companies included in the Dow index;
→ S&P Dow Jones Indices adds Amazon as it seeks to increase the Dow's retail exposure to reflect the emerging nature of the US economy. This was also influenced by the fact that shares of the retail chain Walmart (WMT) underwent a 3:1 split.

The AMZN stock chart today shows that:
→ the AMZN stock price is moving in an upward trend, its contours are indicated by a blue channel;
→ after a strong report (we wrote about this on February 5), a bullish gap formed on the chart — it is now more clearly visible between the levels of 161.5 and 166.5;
→ in the last days of winter, the price approached the upper border of the channel;
→ the price is in the upper half of the channel, and the median line (reinforced by the gap area), according to technical analysis, has the potential to provide support to it;

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

 

[FXOpen Trader]

European Stock Markets on All-Time Roll Despite Economic Bleakness

There has been so much clamour over the past few months relating to the flagging European economy and stagnating British economy compared to the surprisingly healthy economic situation in the United States that it would be very easy to get buried in the deluge of news articles displaying woe which have been accompanied by a rising US Dollar against a declining Euro and Pound.

However, to write off the European economy as second fiddle to that of the United States purely on the grounds of a rising Dollar, some return to form for tech stocks and a relatively mediocre set of meeting notes from the Federal Open Market Committee, which reiterated the lack of a reduction in interest rates for the near future, would be churlish, to say the least.

On the European side of the Atlantic, a more thorough inspection of the overall market conditions would soon put the flagging Euro and mainstream media speculation of recession into perspective.

Over the past few weeks, European stocks have been increasing in value to the extent that some indices have registered an all-time high.

The CAC 40 index in France concluded the European session yesterday at 7,960.8 according to FXOpen charts, which is an all-time record high for the index, which comprises the 40 most highly capitalised stocks listed on French stock exchanges.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

 

[FXOpen Trader]

Market Analysis: Gold Price and Crude Oil Price Eye More Upsides

Gold price started a decent increase above the $2,028 resistance level. Crude oil prices are gaining bullish momentum and might rise toward $80.00.

Important Takeaways for Gold and Oil Prices Analysis Today

• Gold price started a decent increase from the $2,015 zone against the US Dollar.
• A key contracting triangle is forming with support near $2,028 on the hourly chart of gold at FXOpen.
• Crude oil prices rallied above the $76.55 and $77.00 resistance levels.
• There is a key bullish trend line forming with support at $77.80 on the hourly chart of XTI/USD at FXOpen.

Gold Price Technical Analysis

On the hourly chart of Gold at FXOpen, the price found support near the $2,015 zone. The price formed a base and started a fresh increase above the $2,020 level.

There was a decent move above the 50-hour simple moving average and $2,028. The bulls pushed the price above the $2,035 resistance zone. Finally, the bears appeared near $2,040, A high was formed near $2,039.44 and the price is now consolidating gains.

The recent low was formed at $2,028 and the price is now consolidating near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,039 swing high to the $2,028 low.

The RSI is still stable near 40 and the price could aim for more gains. Immediate resistance is near the $2,035 level. It is close to the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,039 swing high to the $2,028 low.

The next major resistance is near the $2,040 level. An upside break above the $2,040 resistance could send Gold price toward $2,050. Any more gains may perhaps set the pace for an increase toward the $2,065 level.

Initial support on the downside is near the $2,028 zone. There is also a key contracting triangle forming with support near $2,028. If there is a downside break below the $2,028 support, the price might decline further. In the stated case, the price might drop toward the $2,015 support.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

 

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AAPL Share Price Rises Nearly 1% after Scrapping Electric Vehicle Plans

In 2021, the release of an electric car from Apple was expected in 2025, in 2022, the deadline was shifted to 2026. As it became known yesterday from Bloomberg and WSJ, Apple decided to completely abandon the project.

Causes for this decision:
→ the electric vehicle market turned out to be not so turbulent;
→ production and technological difficulties;
→ the strong development of electric vehicle construction in China may also have played a role.

Some employees will be fired, others will be transferred to a more promising department related to developments in the field of AI. Despite the fact that the ambitious project, which lasted about 10 years, failed, the price of AAPL shares rose by almost 1% yesterday as a result of trading — perhaps investors positively assessed the reorientation from electric vehicles to a more promising direction related to AI.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

 

[FXOpen Trader]

Australian Dollar Weakens amid Inflation News

According to data published today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) value was: actual 3.4%, expected = 3.6%, a month ago = 3.4%, 2 months ago = 4.3%.

Data shows Australia's consumer price growth rate is slowing, approaching targets of around 2%. This means less pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia, which is pursuing tight monetary policy to combat inflation. Thus, the prospect of lower interest rates makes the Australian dollar weaker relative to other currencies.

For example, the reaction to news about inflation in Australia, which was below expectations, was the fall in the price of AUD/USD.

Technical analysis of the AUD/USD chart shows that:
→ the price of AUD/USD continues to develop in a downward channel (shown in red);
→ the price has broken through the important level 0.6535, which served as support since last week, but now, perhaps, will again begin to provide resistance, as it did in the first half of February;
→ in February, a bearish SHS pattern formed.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

 

[FXOpen Trader]

Brent Crude Oil Makes Sudden Rally As OPEC Countries Mull Low Output

Crude oil is a particularly unusual substance in that it is one of the only consumable commodities that institutions and private individuals widely trade across the spectrum of global markets, and it is a staple component as an energy resource in most aspects of everyday life, yet its value is maintained by a cartel made up of the central governments of the nations that extract it from the earth.

This combination of completely unique circumstances and operational conditions means that the requirement for crude oil to perform its task as a basis for fuels combined with the method by which the OPEC+ countries are able to control its price via aligning to reduce or increase production and distribution makes for an interesting marketplace.

This week, news surfaced across mainstream media around the possibility that the OPEC+ countries may consider an extension of the reduction in crude oil production and supply that is currently in place.

The current level of production and supply that has been set by the OPEC+ countries is subject to a reduction, which was agreed on in November 2022 during a meeting of the OPEC+ nations led by the Russian Federation. At that time, a reduction of approximately 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day was agreed. However, this week, there has been some thought that the OPEC+ nations may consider extending this reduced amount of production into the second quarter of this year.

Fuel prices have steadily been rising on the consumer side, meaning that the cost of refined fuel oils has had to factor these reductions in, and perhaps motorists may have noticed that unleaded fuel and diesel oil for road vehicles have crept up in price very slightly over the past month or so, however, should the extension of a reduced output take place, the wider effect could make its way onto the financial markets, where oil is traded as a commodity.

Over the course of the past day, US Brent Crude Oil has risen in price dramatically. According to FXOpen charts, Brent Crude Oil concluded the trading day on February 26 at $80.51 per barrel, whereas it begins the trading day today at $82.24 per barrel.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

 

[FXOpen Trader]

BTC/USD Price Exceeds $60,000 Per Coin

Several factors contributed to this:

→ Effect associated with the approval of Bitcoin ETF. The media writes that investments in these financial instruments amount to about 9k bitcoins per day, and miners produce only 900 bitcoins per day. The total investment in the Bitcoin ETF after approval on January 11 is approaching USD 50 billion. By comparison, just over USD 90 billion is invested in the 19 largest gold ETFs.

→ Expectations that Ethereum ETFs will be approved in the future, simplifying access to investments in the second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization.

→ Expectations for the Fed to cut interest rates. Cheaper credit means greater appetite for investment in higher-risk assets.

→ Expectations for the halving (scheduled for April), after which a bull market usually begins.

In mid-February, we wrote that the price of Bitcoin did not show bullish progress after exceeding the psychological level of USD 50k per Bitcoin. Technical analysis of the Bitcoin chart shows that this was due to resistance (shown by the arrow) from the median line of the green ascending channel, within which the market has been developing since the fall of 2023. Yesterday's rise, which followed the breakdown of the psychological level of 60k US dollars per bitcoin, marked the upper limit of this channel just above 64k US dollars per bitcoin and made it possible to update its contours.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.

 

[FXOpen Trader]

The American Currency Resumes Its Growth

The American currency, despite a rather multidirectional fundamental data, resumes growth at the end of February. In the main currency pairs, one can observe both rebounds from key levels and continuation of the main trends. Thus, the USD/CAD pair managed to strengthen above 1.3500, the GBP/USD pair lost about 100 pp after rebounding from 1.2700, and EUR/USD buyers failed to strengthen above 1.0900.
USD/CAD

Fluctuations in the oil market contributed to the strengthening of the USD/CAD pair. At the beginning of the week, sellers of the pair tried to break the support at 1.3400, but, as we see, were unsuccessful. Yesterday, the price on the USD/CAD chart not only strengthened above 1.3500, but also updated the current year’s maximum at 1.3580. If the pair's buyers do not lose their upward momentum, the price may strengthen to 1.3770-1.3700. The upward scenario may be cancelled by consolidation below the level of 1.3400.

Today, we can expect increased volatility in the pair. At 16:30 GMT+3, we are waiting for data on Canadian GDP for the fourth quarter of last year. At the same time, the basic price index of personal consumption expenditures in the US for January and indicators on applications for unemployment benefits for the current week will be published.

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Disclaimer: This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only (excluding FXOpen EU). It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.