Today’s Financial Times reports that leading central banks now own one fifth of their governments’ debt. The six they are looking at – US, ECB, Japan, Sweden, Swiss and UK – hold over $15 trillion in assets which is four times as much as they had before the great financial crisis. Worth noting that China has overtaken Japan again as the biggest holder of US Treasury paper, at $1.147 trillion. And today the IMF warns China that has too much ‘dangerous’ debt.
City AM reports that recruitment firm Robert Walters estimates that jobs in the City of London have increased by 37 per cent in the year to July 2017. CEO Chris Hickey says, ‘since the start of the year we have seen a steady increase in job volumes with employers taking a robust attitude towards hiring even in the face of recent uncertainty surrounding the general election’.
DAX 30
Zero momentum as the market is poised in the middle of the new trading band below horizontal resistance at 12345 and last week’s low at 11920.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Small short at 12225; stop above 12355. Target 11550.
POSITION TAKER: Short at 12175; stop above 12415. Target 11500.
FTSE 100
Yesterday’s little bounce has not reversed bearish momentum and appears to have stalled at the 50 per cent retracement level.
SHORT TERM TRADER: New small short at 7410; stop above 7500. First target 7310.
POSITION TAKER: Short at 7300; stop above 7455. Target roughly 7000.
S&P 500
A little shooting star candle ahead of the 2480 area that capped for much of July has kept the MACD bearish. This morning City AM reports that Soros Fund Management has bought put options on several US stock indices.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Short at 2468; stop above 2485. Next target is pivotal support at 2400.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
BRITISH POUND/US DOLLAR
Retracing a Fibonacci 61 per cent of the June/July rally as sterling weakens to £0.9120 to the euro. The commodity channel index is at some of this summer’s lowest readings again.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Square and looking at the commodity channel indicator for an interim base to form.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
EURO/US DOLLAR
Consolidating neatly just under year’s highest level but a pity that strong bullish momentum has completely evaporated. Worth noting that yesterday a court in Karlsruhe thought there were ‘significant reasons’ the ECB had overstepped its mandate by buying €2.3 trillion for QE and referred the case to the European Court of Justice.
SHORT TERM TRADER: Stopped out of a long position at a tiny loss.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
GOLD
Retreating from the top of the broad band that has dominated since February as it did most recently in early June. The commodity channel index has turned down as expected.
SHORT TERM TRADER: New small short at 1269; stop above 1296. Target 1210 again.
POSITION TAKER: Square.
