Here’s today’s ‘Just A Minute’ bringing you a 60 second summary of what’s happening in the financial markets:
Main Trading Event Of The Day: GB Manufacturing PMI @ 08.30 & U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI @ 14.00 GMT
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING TODAY
What Will Apple Reveal This Week?
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference starts today amid speculation about what the company is planning to reveal. Rumours are that Apple’s lineup this year will be the best in 25 years. Although consumers will likely have to wait until later this year for big product announcements, industry experts say that the company may roll out some new features in its software at the conference. The focus is expected to be on two big themes; health and connecting the home. For Apple, it’s all about having all the devices connected and getting people even more locked into their ecosystem and adding value to devices that users already have. The company’s competitors, including Google, which recently bought the smart thermostat company Nest, are all making plays in this space and time is ticking for Apple to do the same. Presently, it is a fragmented experience and the plan is to start connecting things together which Apple will do by using the iPhone. Related to improving Apple’s home experience, the company may also implement voice-enabled Siri capabilities in Apple TV which would help the company compete with Amazon’s Fire TV. In addition, there are rumours of the next iPhone and iPad having larger screens and that the updated operating system will enable split-screen capabilities on the iPad. This would help it compete with the growing number of tablets flooding the enterprise space. A revealing week ahead for Apple watchers, traders will be watching the markets for movements in the price of Apple stocks.
ECB Expectations Pressure Euro
The euro came under pressure today as the market braced for further stimulus measures from the European Central Bank this week. Hopes for policy action at Thursday’s ECB policy review have been high since ECB president Mario Draghi said in Portugal last week that the central bank must be prepared to take action if risks surrounding persistently low inflation emerge. The ECB is thus preparing a package of policy options for its meeting that includes cuts in all its interest rates. In the markets, the focus is shifting to what the Governing Council could do to ‘surprise’ the markets, such as signaling that more aggressive unconventional quantitative easing measures could be forthcoming. Analysts point out that if the ECB does not surprise markets, there could be some cautious profit taking on the EUR, and add that risks for EUR could be on the downside over the medium term. The euro edged down slightly to $1.3627, and remained not far from a three-month low of $1.3586 touched on Thursday.
Gold Falls In Longest Losing Streak In 7 Months
Gold fell for a fifth straight session today in its longest losing streak since November, affected by stronger global equities and weak physical demand in Asia. Spot gold had eased 0.2 percent to $1,247.89 an ounce, not too far from a 4-month low of $1,241.99 hit on Friday. The five-day fall is the metal’s longest losing run since October/November when it dropped for seven straight days. The technical outlook for gold is not looking very good and there is a strong chance it will fall to $1,230 and possibly all the way $1,200. Physical markets haven’t reacted very much to last week’s drop but if prices fall to $1,200, there could be some action. Physical buying failed to pick up as consumers expect gold prices to fall even further. Other data also showed that hedge funds and money managers cut their bullish bets in gold futures and options in the latest week to their lowest level in nearly four months, another sign of waning investor interest in the metal amid higher equities. An early or quick gold turnaround is not expected as the market may not have bottomed yet.
That sums up today’s highlights! It’s a busy week on the market so ensure you’re up-to-date with all the latest news via our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ pages. We hope you have a profitable day on the markets.
