Here’s what you need to know on Tuesday, October 10:
Financial markets were mixed in early trade Tuesday as investors closely watched headlines surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict. The U.S. dollar (USD) index recovered slightly after Monday’s pullback to trade just above 106.00, while U.S. stock index futures were little changed in early European trading. In the absence of high-impact data, market participants will be closely watching speeches from central bankers including European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde.
Despite rising geopolitical tensions, Wall Street’s major stock indexes recovered from a bear market opening and closed in the positive territory. Dovish comments from Fed officials made it difficult for the dollar to find demand during the U.S. session and helped improve risk sentiment. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield opened sharply lower three days into the weekend, falling below 4.7%.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Tuesday that dozens of fighter jets struck more than 200 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight. Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reports that shelters in Gaza have reached 90% capacity, with more than 137,000 people seeking refuge.
During Asian trading, Chinese property developer Country Garden said it faced significant uncertainty over its asset disposals and warned it may not be able to meet its offshore debt obligations. Still, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose nearly 1% on the day, while the Shanghai Composite fell more than 0.5%.
EUR/USD had a rough start to the week, trading lower during the European trading session before bouncing back to end the day flat on Monday. The pair moved higher and settled above 1.0550 in early trade on Tuesday.
GBP/USD found support after falling towards 1.2150 on Monday, closing the day above 1.2200. During European morning, the pair lost its recovery momentum and entered a consolidation phase below 1.2250.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is considering raising its core consumer price index (CPI) forecast for the 2023/24 fiscal year to around 3% from the 2.5% forecast in July, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. . USD/JPY had no immediate reaction to the headline and was last trading in positive territory around 149.00.
Gold benefited from safe-haven demand and lower U.S. Treasury yields, reaching a 10-day high above $1,860 before retreating slightly below that level.