The FTSE, CAC and DAX opened up the day by 0.3%, but with few potentially major economic catalysts until tomorrow, world stock markets are unlikely to make further significant moves in either direction.

Oil prices are stabilising around the $70 marker which has given oil majors a boost and Chinese economic data has helped commodity stocks rise after being hit yesterday.

Pound Weakens Ahead of BoE Report

Yesterday traders made a move on the Pound ahead of the Bank of England inflation report. There were big falls against the Yen, Euro and Dollar, and that trend has continued today, especially on the GBP/JPY.

The GBP/JPY is trading just below the psychologically important ¥160.00 market, but so far the pair has bounced off the ¥159.00 level twice in the last three sessions. If this level holds again, it could present an interesting trading opportunity.

A Fixed Odds Double (Up) Trade could be a good way to play this, especially if the GBP/JPY dips back to the ¥159.00 level once again.

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The FTSE, CAC and DAX opened the day down by around 0.3% less than Friday’s close. European markets finished on a high last week as US payroll numbers came with a number that was not as bad as many had feared.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed at 1012, its highest level since October. However, perhaps mindful of the last time markets jumped on better than expected payroll numbers, US markets drifted off into the close which explains most of the drop we saw this morning in European shares.

After a week crammed with important events, the coming week is bereft of major catalysts until Wednesday with the release of the Bank of England inflation report and the latest FOMC policy statement.

However, if there’s one thing that investors have learned over the last 18 months, it is to expect the unexpected.

Yen Is On The Move

So far in early trading the Yen is looking strong against major currencies, especially the Pound and Euro. It’s moving in the opposite direction against the US Dollar, but this comes on the back of a huge move on Friday.

So far the USD/JPY has reversed around a quarter of Friday’s moving, but with Monday presenting a few potential catalysts, the pair could drift down further to the ¥96.50 region.

A Fixed Odds No Touch Higher, in the region of ¥98.00 or a Double (Down) Trade could be the best way to play this today.

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The FTSE, CAC and DAX have all opened in the red after a jittery session on Wall Street and losses in Asia overnight.

The UK banking sector has been hit hard this morning after the government owned RBS missed analyst’s expectations by a wide margin. Markets are recovering as traders sift through the fine print of the bank’s results, but markets are still under water.

At 12.30 BST today we have the all important US Non Farm Payroll number, with analysts expecting a further improvement on last month. Anything worse than the expected loss of 320,000 jobs and the bears could finally get the catalyst they have been looking for to drive this market lower.

Pound Weakens After BoE Extends Easing Program

The Pound took a real beating yesterday after the Bank of England unexpectedly extended its quantitative easing program. The GBP/USD pair is currently slap bang in the middle of two important levels; $1.7000 and $1.6500.

With today’s Non Farm Payroll announcement there is potential for volatility around midday that could drive the pair to either of these levels very quickly. A Fixed Odds Barrier Range trade could be the best way to play this.

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The FTSE, CAC and DAX have had a storming start to the day, erasing yesterday’s losses in the first 10 minutes of trading. US markets were pretty uninspiring last night but overnight news flow has continued to be positive with well received results from insurance giant Aviva.

Today all eyes are on the UK MPC and European ECB interest rate decisions. Both are expected to keep rates on hold at 0.50% and 1.00% respectively, but rate decisions aren’t the only thing that central bankers have active on throughout the crisis.

Traders will look for any news on any expansion of the Bank of England’s quantitative easing program.

Following these announcements, we have US unemployment claims at 12.30 BST.

GBP/USD Nears Resistance

The have been some significant moves on the Australian and New Zealand Dollar overnight after their latest employment figures. The Australian Dollar has come out better off, rising against the US Dollar this morning while the New Zealand Dollar has dropped.

The major pairs are relatively quiet though, with traders keeping their powder dry ahead of the rate announcements from the ECB and MPC.

GBP/USD probably has the greater potential for volatility with the Bank of England’s more expansive quantitative easing program.

It may be quiet now, but giving the potential for action around midday, today’s pair in play is GBP/USD. The pair is just underneath the $1.7000 level which is acting as resistance, but a surprising result from today’s news conferences could see the GBP/USD blast through this. A Fixed Odds One Touch trade higher could be the best way to play this.

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The FTSE, CAC and DAX have opened down in early trading, but have recovered some ground within the first thirty minutes.

The FTSE is gaining strength after Lloyd’s group posting results that were not as bad as feared. At the same time, UK house prices increased by 1.1% month on month.

Markets are starting to make progress today, but this could just be the calm before the storm. At 09.30 BST we have UK Manufacturing Production and the Services Purchasing Managers Index.

Analysts are expecting small improvements on the previous reading, which could give the FTSE a further boost this morning.

At 12.15 we have US ADP Non Farm Employment Change which is again expected to show improvements on the previous reading. With US Non Manufacturing PMI and Crude Oil inventories also to come today, markets could be jittery throughout until these announcements are out of the way.

AUD/JPY Exchange Influenced By Commodities

It’s honours even between the Euro, Pound and Dollar so far today with no significant moves made amongst these currencies. The Yen has been strong this morning though, especially against the Euro, Pound and Australian Dollar.

The AUD/JPY (Australian Dollar/Japanese Yen) is down around half a percent this morning as oil prices dip slightly. Today’s busy news schedule could have a major impact on the commodity influenced AUD/JPY, making it today’s pair in play.

A good way to play this could be a Fixed Odds Breakout Trade, predicting that the AUD/JPY will touch either ¥82.00 or ¥78.00 over the next couple of days.

You can find this trade under the boundary bet menu.

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The FTSE, CAC and DAX have opened down after a rather mixed session from traders in Asia. Last night the bench mark US index, the S&P 500, hit the psychologically important 1,000 level for the first time since November.

European markets also had a storming session yesterday, coming on the back of a rapid advance over the last few weeks. It is perhaps understandable that investors are booking some profits; the recent rally has exceeded many people’s expectations and taken the bears completely by surprise.

Today’s top economic announcement is US pending home sales at 14.00 BST.

Yen Has Potential For Large Movements

There were no surprises from the Royal Bank of Australia overnight as the central bank left rates unchanged at 3%.

It’s so far been a relatively quiet morning on currency markets but things are start to hot up as the London session gets going.

The Pound is managing to hold its ground against the Dollar after kissing the underside of 1.7000 yesterday. However, this morning’s biggest movements are happening on the Yen pairs, especially the EUR/JPY (Euro/Japanese Yen) as traders retrace some of the huge advance made yesterday.

So far, the EUR/JPY has fallen all day and has retraced around 1/3 of yesterday’s move. There’s a fair chance it could go further and revisit the 136.00 level it blasted through yesterday. Fixed Odds One Touch trades and Double (down) trades could be a fair way to play this today.

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.

Traders closed the door on a record month on Friday and already August has started off well.

July marked the fifth consecutive month of gains for the benchmark US S&P 500 index, its best five month stretch since October 1938.

This morning the excitement continues with trading statements from the UK’s Barclays and HSBC banks. There was an early wobble when Barclays increased profits by 10% but missed more optimistic estimates. The FTSE and Pound took an early dip, but have both since recovered well as traders give the UK banks the benefit of the doubt.

On top of this, we have UK manufacturing PMI at 08.30 BST today followed by US ISM manufacturing at 14.00.

Strong Sterling FX Trade

The performance of the UK banking sector will undoubtedly have a knock on effect on the Pound today, as we have already seen in early trading.

Strong UK banks equal a strong Pound it seems. The Pound is strong against most currencies, but most notably the Euro, Dollar and the Yen.

The GBP/JPY is slowly making its way back up to ¥160.00 and could make it there within a day or two. As a result, GBP/JPY may be considered today’s pair in play with action likely to take place in and around the ¥160.00 area.

This website content does not constitute investment advice. No individual contributor, contributing company nor Online-Spread-Betting.com accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the content.