At the start of next week, a calmer trading atmosphere is anticipated, taking into account the Middle Eastern situation and the economic events later in the week.
The markets are breathing a sigh of relief as tensions between Israel and Iran did not escalate over the weekend. Equity markets in Asia and U.S. stock futures in after-hours trading are showing strong performance, with a relaxation in risk aversion. In the forex market, there is a slight weakening of the yen and the dollar.
This week is heavy with significant economic events in the latter part. On Wednesday, Australia’s inflation data is scheduled for release, Thursday will see the preliminary GDP figures for the first quarter from the U.S., and on Friday, the results of the Bank of Japan’s meeting and its outlook report, as well as U.S. personal income and spending data, and the PCE deflator are due.
In anticipation of these events, UK housing prices were released earlier today, and the CBI manufacturing orders in London time are planned. There are no major U.S. economic indicators scheduled for NY time, only the release of Canada’s industrial product and raw material prices for March and the Eurozone’s consumer confidence flash estimate for April.
Regarding speeches and events, there are scheduled engagements from figures such as François Villeroy de Galhau, the Governor of the Bank of France, and Christine Lagarde, the ECB President. A speech from Nathaniel Benjamin of the Bank of England is also planned. However, U.S. financial officials have entered a “blackout period” refraining from policy-related remarks ahead of the May 2nd FOMC meeting.
Given the calm in the Middle East, potential buying opportunities in cryptocurrencies are expected, while gold and oil prices may see declines. In forex, we are targeting selling opportunities in the Canadian dollar, which has a strong correlation with oil.
