US Dollar Plunges: Implications for Global Markets
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US dollar plunges
The selloff in the US dollar accelerates post-CPI, with the dollar index approaching the 100 level with big and steady steps. This is good news for inflation in the rest of the world, because the softer the US dollar, the softer the energy and raw material prices negotiated in terms of US dollars. In the same way the dollar appreciation fueled inflation globally, its depreciation could help ease it as well.
The EURUSD spiked to 1.1150, Cable advanced past the 1.30 level, while the dollar-yen extended losses below the 140 psychological mark. In precious metals, gold is thriving on the back of softer yields and the softer dollar. The price of an ounce rallied past $1960 and consolidates near $1955 at the time of writing.
In energy, oil bulls target the 200-DMA, that stands near the $77pb level, yet the $77/80 range will be hard to drill as the higher the energy the prices, the higher the inflation expectations, and the higher the inflation expectations, the tighter the Fed policy. The tighter the Fed policy, the stronger the odds of recession, and the stronger the odds of recession, the softer the global energy demand, and the softer the energy prices.
In equities, soft US inflation and decline in US yields pushed the S&P500 to a fresh high since April 2022. The index flirted with the 4500 level on expectation that the Fed will hike one more time and stop, and that the actual tightening cycle could very well end with a soft landing. Nasdaq 100, on the other hand, rallied to the highest levels since the beginning of last year. Meta for example jumped 3.70% on the back of inflation optimism and the news that its Threads platform is growing while dampening traffic on rival Twitter.
On a side note, because Nasdaq 100 is now over-concentrated in Mega Cap stocks, there will be a rebalancing in the weightings of the index. Nasdaq has a rule stating that the aggregate total of individual weights above 4.5% in the index shouldn't exceed 48% of the total weighting. And today, the Magnificent Seven is worth around 55% of Nasdaq 100. So, the changing weights could weigh on Nasdaq, as the best performing stocks will see their weight drawn down.
