Market Commentary: Friday 21st June

Yesterday marked the Summer Solstice, did we see extra sunlight from Central Bankers? A quick recap - the SNB cut 25 bps, the Norges bank kept rates on hold, the BoE was a 'dovish hold' with the minutes revealing the decision not to cut rates was 'finely balanced' for some and the Fed’s Barkin said he needs more clarity on inflation before lowering rates. Barkin indicated that any rate cuts depend on economic conditions, making it premature to provide guidance on future adjustments. Overnight we have seen some profit taking in the equity world the S&P and Nasdaq both finished lower, with Nvidia Corp. and Apple weaker in the session. The yen traded around 159, with 160 being seen as the line in the sand, this is its weakest level in almost two months. This ramps up the risk Japanese officials will once again step into markets to prop up the currency. Masato Kanda, the nation’s top currency official, said that there’s no change in his stance to take appropriate measures if there are excessive currency moves.Domestically the UK GfK Consumer Confidence Survey was firmer but still negative, rising to -14 in June. It was expected to tick up to -16 from -17 previously. Market wise the yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.26%, Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $64,551.03, Ether fell 0.4% to $3,510.11 and Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,362.54 an ounceAs for the data we have S&P Global Services PMI and US existing home sales and the Confederation Board leading index.

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