Market Snapshot – Focus on the Dollar

Earnings Season Kicks Off

The markets have been quiet today, all around the world as the markets await the data from the US later in the day. Yellen did not roll back any of her comments from the previous day and the threat of tapering continues to haunt the European markets. That is one of the reasons why the DAX and the FTSE have been quiet today and the choppy trading is expected to continue in the short term. The earnings season in the US kicked off on a positive note as the results from JP Morgan Chase beat the market expectations easily. The investors and the bulls would hope that it turns out to be a good season for earnings as they desperately need some direction in such times of low volatility.

Dollar in Focus

The focus today is on the dollar with the CPI and retail sales data to be released shortly. The NFP data came in strong last week and the market would hope that the 2 data points today also come in quite strong to give them the confidence to buy the dollar. With Yellen refusing to say anything that remotely supports the dollar, the dollar bulls have been left clutching at the straws for anything remotely dollar supportive and they would dearly hope that they get something today.