What a gulf between Wall Street, literally euphoric with +2% in 48 hours for the Nasdaq, and the FOREX, where the Dollar lost all of yesterday's gains on Thursday.

The Dollar Index recovered 0.75% to 104.05 (from 103.15 on Wednesday evening), and is now up +0.35% on Tuesday evening.

The greenback regained +0.5% against the euro (1.0860) and the Swiss franc (0.8860), and even +1.05% against the pound at 1.2660: like its American counterpart, the BoE also opted for a 'status quo' at lunchtime, but the market anticipates the start of a shift in its monetary policy during the second half of the year.

The FED maintained its key rate at 5.25% for the 5th time in a row, as expected, but its statement hinted that the slowdown in inflation - albeit uneven - could enable it to ease monetary policy in the months ahead.

The Fed's eagerly-awaited dot plots continue to point to three rate cuts in 2024, followed by three further reductions in the cost of money in 2025.

According to the CME's FedWatch barometer, traders now rate the probability of a rate cut in June at almost 72%, compared with 60% before the Fed meeting.

The morning had been enlivened in Europe by the publication of the latest PMI activity indicators in the euro zone: the HCOB composite flash PMI index of overall activity in the euro zone stood at 49.9 in March, compared with 49.2 in February, signalling a quasi-stabilization of activity levels in March.


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