This is what you need to know to trade today Thursday December 8:
Financial markets remain choppy in the second half of the week due to a lack of fundamentals and high-level data. Participants stand on the sidelines awaiting key central bank announcements next week and major currency pairs struggling to make a decisive move in either direction. Following Wednesday’s setback from falling US Treasury yields, the dollar index remains calm near 105.00. Initial Claims for Unemployment Benefits will be published on Thursday, with investors closely watching China’s zero-covid policy.
Shanghai city authorities announced earlier in the day that from Friday they will not require Covid checks in restaurants and entertainment venues. For its part, Hong Kong has announced that it will ease the isolation rules for infected travelers. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index looks set to close higher than 3%, but the Shanghai Composite Index is trading flat after these events.
Meanwhile, US data revealed on Wednesday that Unit Labor Costs rose 2.4% in the third quarter. This data did not meet market expectations at all, which placed it at 3.2%, so the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds fell below 3.5%, weighing on the dollar.
Following the December monetary policy meeting, the Bank of Canada decided to raise its official interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.25%, as expected. Regarding future measures, the BoC indicated in its statement that it will study the need to continue raising interest rates: “Inflation remains too high and short-term inflation expectations remain high.” After closing flat at 1.3650 on Wednesday, the USD/CAD it continues to fluctuate near that level early Thursday.
The EUR/USD broke a two-day losing streak and closed slightly above 1.0500 on Wednesday. The pair is trading within a narrow channel during the European morning. European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is scheduled to deliver a speech at 12:00 GMT.
The GBP/USD managed to post modest daily gains on Wednesday and enters a consolidation phase around 1.2200 on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, data from Japan revealed that Gross Domestic Product contracted at an annual rate of 0.8% in the third quarter. This figure slightly exceeded the expectations of the markets, which expected a contraction of 1.1%. The pair USD/JPY It did not show an immediate reaction to this data and is now hovering below 137.00.
The gold price benefited from falling US bond yields and posted strong daily gains on Wednesday. The XAU/USD pair consolidates its gains above $1,780.
Bitcoin It continues to move up and down in a narrow channel around $17,000 on Thursday. After the 3% decline on Wednesday, ethereum it remains calm slightly above $1,200.
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
