Summary:
- All-time highs for US stocks with US30 moving above 26000 and US500 over 2800
- South Korean crackdown sends cryptocurrencies crashing
- GBP dips on slowdown in inflation
- Large GDT rise but NZD drifts lower
- Technical overview of DE30
After a long weekend for stock traders across the Atlantic they have returned in a buoyant mood. The US30 has extended higher and continued its rally with the benchmark moving above the 26000 handle for the first time ever. The market has begun the New Year in a bullish mood with gains of well over 1000 points since 2018 began. The US500 has also risen whilst US traders have been away with the index breaching 2800 to post a new all-time high.
Bitcoin and other crypto markets have taken a hit today as risks related to the South Korean thread came back again. To be precise, according to the country’s finance minister Kim Dong-yeon who appeared in an interview with local radio overnight prohibition of trading in digital currencies is “a live option” but the decision is subject to a thorough government review.
A short video covering the latest technical levels for the 5 cryptocurrency markets (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and Dash) can be found here.
The UK inflation rate slowed down in December for the first time in six months matching the economists’ consensus. The reading appears to suit the BoE’s latest projections foreshadowing a slowdown in consumer price growth this year. In effect, the British pound declined slightly against the US dollar retreating from a significant resistance.
The latest results from the fortnightly Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction has seen a large increase in the milk benchmark. An increase of 4.9% comes after a 2.2% increase last time and the strong consecutive gains could be seen to suggest that the declines the index experienced in the 4th quarter of 2017 are being reversed. Despite the beat, the New Zealand dollar has failed to rise with the Kiwi remaining lower across the board.
The DE30 has managed to make steady gains today with the index ending the European session above 13200. An in-depth technical overview of the market can be found here.