Morning Wrap (14.02.2024)

Wall Street indices ended yesterday's session with declines after higher CPI data - both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 lost about 1.50%.

Indices from Asia and the Pacific were mainly higher today - Nikkei rose by 0.20%, Australian S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.90% higher, and indices from China are growing between 0.25-1.00%.

Futures contracts on European indices indicate a slightly higher opening for the cash session in the Old Continent.

In the forex market, no major changes are observed in the first part of the day. The USD dollar has slowed its growth and has even slightly lost so far.

Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki and his Deputy Minister of Finance for International Affairs Kanda provided comments today related to the recent decline in the yen's value. However, the politicians' comments did not exert significant pressure for strengthening, and the USDJPY rate remains above the 150,000 level.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki refused to comment on the rapid weakening of the JPY in the market and possible BoJ intervention. However, the official noted that the ministry is closely monitoring every movement in the forex market.

"Recent yen movements have been quite sharp," said Deputy Finance Minister for International Affairs Masato Kanda to reporters on Wednesday. The politician noted that some of the recent sharp movements are consistent with fundamentals, but some are clearly speculative and undesirable.

In the cryptocurrency market, we can notice a slight rotation of capital from Bitcoin to smaller projects. Bitcoin remains at the 49700 USD level, while both Ether (+0.20%) and Altcoins (+0.30%) are gaining.