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.
read more
SHARE
US stock markets continued to hit record highs last Friday, despite the ongoing shutdown of the federal government. So far, negotiations between both sides have yielded very little and by all accounts, it may take a while longer to reach a resolution. US government shutdowns are nothing new and typically last no more than a week or so, but the timing of the current gridlock means that central bankers, investors and traders alike are lacking crucial economic updates. NFPs failed to materialise on Friday and if the shutdown continues, so too will Thursday’s jobless claims. Despite the disruption, it is business as usual as far as Wall Street is concerned. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both hit record highs on Friday, as did the FTSE 100 index in the UK.
Precious metals ended the week on a high note, with gold edging up to $3,886 and silver closing Friday’s session a hair’s breadth under $48 per ounce. The low liquidity environment helped to push precious metals even higher this morning as the Asian session opened for the day, with gold and silver rising from the opening bell. Gold has broken its own record so many times this year that most people stopped counting long ago. For silver however, things are different. Silver is now inches away from breaking its record high established all the way back in 1980 and matched in 2011. The moment silver crosses $50 an ounce, the white metal will be in uncharted territory for the first time in decades.
The excitement in precious metals has also spread to Bitcoin, which tapped $125,000 per coin over the weekend, beating its previous record high established back in August. Cryptocurrencies have traditionally over performed in October, and while traders have a long way to go until the end of the month, so far this year is no exception.
Rather difficult to lay out the economic calendar when the government bodies responsible for collating and publishing the data are closed. When the US government finally does agree to a funding plan and reopens for business, markets will be granted an overdue NFP report, but as of this moment, it is impossible to say when. A surprise NFP drop sounds terrifying for unprepared traders, so with any luck, markets will get some warning beforehand. Absent any unforeseen releases, Wednesday will provide the minutes from the last FOMC meeting, which resulted in the first rate cut of the year. The absence of economic data certainly makes the Fed’s job more difficult, but given historical trends, it is very unlikely that the shutdown will last until the next meeting on the 29th of October. Chairman Powell is scheduled to deliver a speech the following day, which should shed light on the Fed’s perspective on the ongoing situation on Capitol Hill.
Risk Warning : Trading derivatives and leveraged products carries a high level of risk.
OPEN ACCOUNT