US indices extend gains; CAD and MXN move on NAFTA developments

Summary:

• Stocks break more records as US500 reaches 2900

• USDMXN: Could peso benefit when NAFTA risks subside?

• Mnuchin expects Canadian trade deal this week; USDCAD breaks lower

• Swedish Krona slides on hideous retail sales

• Crypto markets gain as Singapore exchange looks into blockchain settlements

There’s been more gains seen for US indices in the first hour or so of the cash session with the US500 and US100 both making new all-time highs. Bouyed by some more solid data with the US August conference board consumer confidence coming in at its highest level since November 2000 (133.4 vs 126.6 expected) and with some tentative steps taken towards progress on trade the outlook remains seemingly favourable for equities at present.

The Mexican Peso made a quick move higher yesterday as the US and Mexico agreed on a new trade deal. However, the USDMXN has pared this move and is actually higher by almost 1% on the day. From a fundamental point of view there are several reasons which could be seen to suggest that the Peso is well placed for further gains and we earlier looked into the currency in more detail.

Trade has come back into focus at the start of the week with the announcement of a trade deal between the US and Mexico being warmly welcomed as a possible harbinger of things to come. The news was warmly greeted by equity investors as US indices built on Friday’s gains to move higher with both the US500 and US100 reaching new record peaks. With that deal in the bag attention now turns elsewhere, with Canada, who were the other party in the NAFTA an obvious place to look.  

A July’s reading of retail sales might be disappointing for SEK bulls and this is especially true as it was the second back-to-back sub-par release. Even as the underlying trend of household spending kept its pace during the second quarter some doubts with regard to any rate hikes this year might be raised. As a result, the SEK is falling 0.25% against the US dollar twenty minutes after the data release.

It’s a sea of green in the crypto space today with strong gains seen across the board. Bitcoin has moved back above the 7000 level after rising almost 5% on the day, but Litecoin is faring even better and higher by more than 6.5% at the time of writing. The Singaporean exchange wants to develop a blockchain-powered platform for quick settlement of securities. On Friday, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) announced it will cooperate with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (a Singapore’s central bank) to develop the mentioned platform which will allow to settle tokenized assets across different blockchain platforms. Nasdaq, Deloitte and Anquan were chosen as technological partners.