- The Asian session proceeded in a mixed mood. Japan's Nikkei regained some ground after yesterday's slump, while China's Hang Seng extends losses by another 1.7%.
- Futures are currently pointing to a slightly lower opening in the European cash session.
- Nvidia announces next-generation RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs; moreover, Nvidia's Chief Executive calls robots a “multi-billion dollar” opportunity for the company's next phase of growth. Jensen Huang unveils artificial intelligence models for humanoids and a partnership with Toyota on autonomous cars at CES.
- Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve's chief regulator, has announced that he will step down on February 28, in a surprise move that will avoid a potential legal battle with President-elect Donald Trump.
- Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reiterated concerns about speculative selling of the yen as the currency reached 158.40 yen per dollar. This is not far from the 160 yen level that triggered the intervention six months ago. The USDJPY pair caps the scale of gains from the early Asian session, which reached the highest levels seen since July 2024.
- Investor attention today turns to CPI data from Switzerland, France and the Eurozone, as well as IMS data for the service sector from the US. Investors may also pay attention to the publication of JOLTS data from the labor market.
- Precious metals are gaining this morning. Gold prices are up 0.36% while silver prices are adding 0.65%.
- At the same time, close to 2.5% declines are seen in natural gas, which yesterday extended dynamic gains after the publication of new frigid weather forecasts in the US.
- Sentiment in the crypto market is mixed. Bitcoin remains above the $101,000 barrier, although from a technical perspective it maintains a relatively dynamic upward trend.
- The Antipodean currencies, the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar, are currently the best performers in the FX market. On the other hand, the previously mentioned Japanese yen, as well as the U.S. dollar are quoted under pressure.
Heatmap showing the volatility currently observed in the FX market. Source: xStation
