Financial Analyst/Content Writer, RADEX MARKETS
Lawrence J. came from a strong technical and engineering background before pivoting into a more financial role later on in his career. Always interested in international finance, Lawrence is experienced in both traditional markets as well as the emerging crypto markets. He now serves as the financial writer for RADEX MARKETS.
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The US Senate has voted 60-40 in favour of a deal to secure funding until the end of January. The agreement, reached late on Sunday night, is a crucial step towards reopening the government and ending the longest shutdown in history at 40 days and counting. Financial markets are already reacting positively to the surprise development, with cryptocurrencies opening strongly this morning and US futures markets rising higher upon hearing the news. The funding plan will still need to face a vote in the House of Representatives, likely within the next few days, but current developments are the first concrete steps towards ending the deadlock in weeks, so markets are understandably optimistic. US stocks underwent a modest correction last week following a heavy selloff in the tech sector, so markets will be grateful for any bullish catalyst to drive asset prices higher. The flight from big tech was particularly detrimental to the Nasdaq Composite index, which fell over 3% last week – its worst performance since March.
Precious metals are also reacting positively this morning after muted performances last week. Gold wasted no time pushing higher as the Asian session got under way, climbing to $4,050 per ounce before lunchtime. A similar story for silver, which quickly clawed its way back over $49, while Platinum and Palladium were also cautiously optimistic earlier in the session. On the crypto side, Bitcoin reclaimed $106,000 per coin this morning after repeated unsuccessful attempts to drive prices below $100k last week. Interestingly, the wider crypto markets took the initiative this time round, with altcoins pumping from Friday, leading to a noticeable decline in Bitcoin dominance.
The economic calendar is looking a little barren this week, particularly with North American markets closed tomorrow in observance of Veterans/Armistice Day. The only real question is whether the US government shutdown will end quickly enough for any of the delayed economic publications to be released later in the week. There is now a significant backlog of information waiting to hit financial markets and traders may soon be inundated with labour and inflation figures. The reopening of the US government is an obviously positive development, but the overdue data could rapidly sour investor sentiment should the jobs market or CPI numbers reflect badly on the US economy.
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