FOREX
The US dollar is finding support amidst an upsurge in risk aversion during early Friday trading, as heightened equities volatility forced an increase in demand for the safe haven greenback. The markets are unsettled by swings in volatility caused by the targeting – by crowds of retail traders – of large hedge funds’ short positions, forcing some to liquidate positions in order to release the funds needed to cover losses elsewhere.
Ricardo Evangelista – Senior Analyst, ActivTrades
EUROPEAN SHARES
European markets drifted lower at the opening of the last trading session of the week, following the global trend sparked on US shares yesterday. The worst weekly slide in three months on global markets came despite reassuring earnings and macro data this week, following concerns over volatile retail trading in the US. The strong bearish wind hit US markets first, following the decision by some brokerage firms to restrict trading on highly volatile shares like GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment – that have been strongly sustained by an army of retail traders against Wall Street giants – in an attempt to bring more stabilization to prices. Generally, global market sentiment is becoming increasingly mixed at the end of the first trading month of the year as investors remain torn between hopes of a stimulus-fuelled recovery and delays in vaccine rollout, especially in Europe where some countries are even threatening big pharma (AstraZeneca) with possible legal actions. Today’s session is likely to become less volatile after trading in highly speculated US shares has been limited while no significant macro news is expected.
Pierre Veyret– Technical analyst, ActivTrades
Disclaimer: opinions are personal to the authors and do not reflect the opinions of LeapRate. This is not a trading advice.
