Intraday Market Thoughts Archives

Trump's comments suggesting he could dispute the election have put a range of risks into focus. Surging cases in Europe are weighing on the area's indices (DAX tumbling 5% on the week), with US indices escaping the day's losses, but are falling for the 4th straight week for the 1st time since August 2019 (not March or April 2020). Biden's presidential election polling average fell 0.2 pts from the prior day, while Trump's rose 0.1 pt over the same period.  Silver and gold have pushed back up, while Aussie and franc have lagged. Is the USD's ascent finished? Will the March trendline resistance hold 94.60? Will gold maintain support at the 100-DMA?  It's all in this week's Premium video below. 

If you're going to panic, it's always better to panic early than to panic late.

A clear picture of US election night is beginning to take shape. Trump is trailing in the polls but certainly not out of the race and no one can forget his comeback against Hilary Clinton. Polls show the far more voters than in 2016 are already in the 'decided' camp so in all likelihood we will be going into election night in something close to the current state of affairs.

The nightmare scenario is that on election night Trump appears to hold a narrow victory but as mailed in votes (which favour him) arrive in the following days, Biden takes a lead. Given his recent comments, Trump will undoubtedly dispute the election. Even if he loses on election night there's a good chance he disputes it.

Along with that, it's looking increasingly likely that we will have climb in COVID in the months ahead and no US stimulus.

The question then is: How much risk and volatility can you tolerate in the lead up?

None of this is particularly new but with just over five weeks to go until the election, the state-of-play has crystalized. It's left traders – particularly equity traders – facing the choice of whether to head to the sidelines or weather the storm. News that brokers have cut leverage is making it an easier decision.

As for FX, the recent declines in commodity currencies along with a number of technical breaks make a compelling argument for caution.

Watch Ashraf's Premium video above for the latest on the intermarket technical picture. 

The US dollar resumes its rally even as the mood in equity markets initally improved. USD and GBP are the top performers while the gold, silver and the Kiwi were the weakest. Below are today's metals intraday calls Ashraf gave members of the Whatsapp Broadcast Group,when gold was above 1885. If yields are falling by less than metals, would it pose fresh concern for metals? Also see later below Tuesday's idea on the DOW and neckline support-later-turned resistance pattern is found in the 4th paragraph. EURUSD hit its final target of 1.17 for 260 pips, entered at the high of Sep1st. 2 New Premium trades were issued earlier today.  Below are today's daytrading calls in XAUUSD, XAGUSD for the WBG. 

USDX broke above that key neckline resistance of the inverted H&S formation, coinciding with the 55-DMA.  The big question facing the FX market remains whether this is a dollar dead-cat bounce or the start of a longer retracement cycle. The price action on Tuesday highlighted the scope for further gains as it broke some technical levels and neared others. The bid in the dollar was strong and steady even as the news and market sentiment varied.

Below, is Ashraf's chart & trade idea on the DOW30 before the close of Tuesday's cash session, highlighting the 27500 neckline support turned resistance. 

The steady bid in USD/JPY is certainly a curious element of the playing field as it climbs from levels that are undoubtedly a headache for Japanese officials. That extra bid could be providing some of the marginal strength in the dollar.

Another part of the equation is undoubtedly the resurgence of the virus in Europe. The UK placed a new curfew on bars and encouraged companies to allow work from home. Eurozone consumer confidence was better than anticipated on Tuesday but cases throughout the continent are moving in the wrong direction just as cold-and-flu season begins.

In the battle of easy money vs uncertainty the certain of low rates appears to be priced in while the uncertainty around the virus and US election is encouraging some deleveraging. That shift to the sidelines is helping to unwind crowded positions like long stocks and short USD.

 

There are a long list of great uncertainties in financial markets right now but those contrast with an unprecedented level of certainty about interest rates. The US dollar was the top performer while the New Zealand dollar lagged. The US Richmond Fed and existing home sales are up next. The Premium DOW30 trade hit its final target of 27050 for 1210 pt gain and last week's DAX trade completed 390-pt gain. By the time Nasdaq completed its 14% high-to-low decline, it ended up outperforming DOW30 and SPX. Yet, all indices remained below their 55-DMA. Do not waste time. Skip to the 5:00 mins of the clip of the Sep 3rd video (week of Sep top) to hear Ashraf's PRICE & TIME call for DOW30. 

Since the pandemic bottom, the balance of rates vs uncertainty has tilted towards the massive influx of central bank easing. It's led to unprecedented bounces is equities, a major move in gold and never-before-seen lows in interest rates.

By many metrics, it's gone too far. Then again, central banks may have also gone too far. In explaining his FOMC dissent on Monday, Kaplan said the Fed risked inflating a bubble by pledging to keep rates at zero even after its goals are accomplished.

Up until Monday, the dip in technology stocks was largely ignored by the FX and rates market. That changed with equities taking a broader leg down on Monday, led by Europe. What may have changed is that rising COVID case numbers are triggering fears of new restrictions. The US has so far shown a high threshold for COVID-driven economic weakness but other jurisdictions haven't been challenged in the same way. Most likely, the kinds of numbers many US states are tolerating right now would lead to major curbs in the UK or Canada but that remains to be seen.

The balance of it all begs for another look at the charts. Despite some larger moves on Monday, there were few breakouts. Cable held the Sept low, the euro rebounded back into the range from a five-week low and gold finished back above $1900. Here is a recap of Ashraf's calling the top of gold & silver 15 hrs before the peak. 

Note too that markets bottomed in June on the Monday after the FOMC.

In spite of the mountain of worries, the potential for a vaccine and easy policy are powerful tools and it's far too soon to say that balance is broken. Ultimately, it will come down to the charts and the data. On Tuesday we get August existing home sales (exp 6.0m) and the September Richmond Fed (exp +12). 

Soft numbers and other day like Monday would be a strong signal.