Markets:
- Gold down $30 to $2342
- WTI crude oil up 52-cents to $85.54
- US 10-year yields down 6.3 bps to 4.51%
- S&P 500 down 1.5%
- JPY leads, AUD lags
What has me rattled is the warning from Senator Marco Rubio about how Iran will attack Israel “barring some last minute development.” During the first minutes of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Rubio was live-tweeting what Russia was doing and planned to do in extreme detail. This indicates that he’s privy to the highest levels of US intel and his comments certainly made the market nervous.
What had been moderate worry turned into full-scale fear in the equity market with the Nasdaq down 2%. The US dollar also climbed broadly and US 10-year yields slid.
However late in the day, Hezbollah launched a mild rocket attack against Israel and the market breathed something of a sigh of relief, thinking that maybe that was it. Still, the market is on edge and we will have to see what the weekend or next week brings.
Gold was caught up in the drama as it rose to a record high but as risk sentiment worsened a round of profit taking turned into a $100 drop, leaving a nasty reversal on the chart. Eyes will be on the ever-present buyers in China at the Monday open, to see if they buy the dip once again.
FX news wrap April 12
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
