Russell Shor

Since the week starting Monday, 17 October (black dashed vertical), the US 10-year real rate has been drifting lower (blue arrow top chart). An appreciation in the EURUSD (red arrow bottom chart) accompanies this.

The Fed and BoE both hike by 75 bps but their tonality contrast with each other. RBA shows conservativeness, with central bank signs of slowing down in some regions. NFP leads to an odd market reaction and critical inflation data this Thursday. Into this mix, we also have the US mid-terms. All this and more.

The USDOLLAR (bottom candlestick chart) pullback that started on Friday seems disconnected from the underlying fundamentals. On Friday, the real rate (top candlestick chart) charted an indecisive doji, whilst the greenback declined markedly. Moreover, the dollar has shown weakness in today's morning session, with minimal movement from the real rate. Over the two sessions, their correlation coefficient declined from 69% to 52%.

NFP Live Trade - 04 November 2022

Tech earnings have disappointed over the Q3 earnings seasons, and with the prospect of higher rates, the present value of the NAS100 will likely come under further pressure. As a result, the NAS100 has fallen back into its bearish area between the lower blue and red bands. The longer it stays in this channel, the greater the probability of lower index prices ahead.

A policy rate above neutral is, in effect, a contractionary monetary policy. Given that the Fed may only have just hit neutral, the Fed's hawkishness is understandable. Chair Powell admitted as such, saying that "the level of interest rates will...be higher than previously expected."

There is optimism that China will reopen from their strict Covid policy. Given that it is the 2nd largest energy consumer, this will be significant. An unverified note on social media suggested that a "Reopening Committee" had been formed. With the OPEC+ cuts, this may catalyse further price appreciation and a higher peak.

The ISM manufacturing number came in at 50.2, higher than the 50 that was forecast. As a result, the real rate gapped up on the print (red arrow), and FXCM's USDOLLAR basket followed upwards (green arrow).

The SPX500 daily is in its bullish area between the upper red and blue bands. The hourly chart on the right shows positive signals too. Its EMAs are in a favourable formation, and the stochastic is above 80. The longer the stochastic maintains this position, the greater the chances for further price appreciation. However, the key driver here will be the tone of the Fed decision tomorrow. Hawkishness may scupper…

Forex markets this week will likely take their directionby the Fed announcement on Wednesday, 2 November. However, given the PCE data on Friday, and the resilience of median inflation, a Fed pivot has long odds, in our opinion. The central bank will deliver 75bps for this meeting, but it is unclear if it will provide 50bps or 75bps in December (48% vs 47% probabilities). FXCM's USDOLLAR basket gapped up on…

The market will listen to the statement's tone and Fed Chair Powell's press conference. How it is perceived will be market-moving. The real rate looks to be setting up for a trough (green arrow). If so, bitcoin may be charting a peak. I.e. if the tone is hawkish and the real rate moves up, bitcoin is likely to come under pressure.