This is the
festive week for the Wall Street after the Federal Reserve (Fed) gave investors
everything they need for a rally to new all-time highs. The Dow Jones did it
already, while the S&P 500 broad market barometer needs another 1.6% to the
record. There is little doubt it can take it in the nearest time.
It could
not be otherwise after the it was charged by the Fed. New dot plot projections point
to a three interest rates cuts by the Fed in 2024. Its chair Jerome Powell
boldly expressed that none of the Fed’s officials are expecting any further
rates hikes, while thinking when to start cutting the rates. This is an extremely
dovish sound from the watchdog that ignores a strong November labour market
report and less-than-expected decline of inflation on monthly basis. The
headline inflation in November was at 0.1% MoM missing expectations at 0.0%.
Other inflation numbers were in line with the forecast with inflation at 3.1%
YoY down from 3.2% YoY in October.
The Fed prompted
celebrations in the Wall Street after it announced a U-turn in its monetary
policy. According to CME FedWatch Tool, investors sharply increased the odds of
three consecutive rate cuts in March, May and June from the current rate level
of 5.50% to 4.75%. Immediately after the Fed meeting, all three probabilities
jumped above 70.0%. To date, they stand at 62.8%, 56.0%, and 54.1%,
respectively.
U.S.
10-year Treasuries yields dropped sharply to 3.88%, the lowest since June, from
4.23%. The S&P 500 index rose by 2.8% to 4741 points this week. The
all-time high is located at 4819 point, which is just a click away.
Investors
were reluctant to the meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of
England (BoE). Both central banks expressed more caution and provoked further
selloffs of the Greenback. The U.S. Dollar index lost 2.0% this week.
Investors are
likely to pay strong attention to the business activity (PMI) data in the
Eurozone, the United Kingdom and in the U.S, as this data would be released
during triple witching Friday and oversold pressure in the U.S. Dollar. The
U.S. Dollar index may recover by 1.0%.
Technically,
the S&P 500 index has passed all over the available upside zone closing at
the resistance at 4730-4750 points. The rally to the next resistance at 4850
points will be available at the end of next week. So, we should not exclude a possible
roll back. More likely, the index will exercise sideways movements.
OPEC+ strikes
back trying to push oil prices up. Crude prices are trying to hold themselves
above the support at $74.00-76.00 per barrel. They need to close Friday above
this level to move up towards $84.00-86.00 per barrel. Otherwise, they may drop
to the support at $65 per barrel.
Gold prices
are moving inside the mid-term upside formation with targets at $2000-2100 per
troy ounce that have already been met. Prices broke through the resistance at
$2100 per ounce to $2141 level and rolled backed to the nearest support is at
$1990-2010 per ounce. Prices may continue to deteriorate pushed down by a
technical weakness period that will last by mid-January potentially leading
gold prices below $2000 per ounce.
The
Greenback returned to its primary correction targets at 1.08500-1.09500 against
the Euro. Further correction is tied to the developments of a Christmas stock
rally. In this scenario, the EURUSD may rise towards 1.11500-1.12500. First,
the EURUSD has to remove overbought tension.