Friday, July 20–Jim Wyckoff’s Morning Markets Report
OVERNIGHT DEVELOPMENTS
World stock markets were mixed overnight, with European shares mostly down and Asian shares mostly up. U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward narrowly mixed openings when the New York day session begins.
The Chinese yuan currency hit another 12-month low against the U.S. dollar today after the Chinese central bank guided its currency down by 0.9%–the largest single-move depreciation against the dollar in two years. The yuan has declined by 2.3% against the greenback in July.
The marketplace is still buzzing about the CNBC interview with President Donald Trump, in which he criticized the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates. Trump said he is “not thrilled” about the recent U.S. interest rate hikes and is worried the progress his administration has made on the U.S. economy could be undone by higher rates. Trump also implied a stronger U.S. dollar could be disadvantageous for U.S. foreign trade. Still, he called Fed Chairman Jerome Powell a good man for the job. The U.S. dollar was pressured on the news, U.S. Treasuries rallied and gold and silver prices pared losses.
