The US dollar posted a mild recovery against most major currencies on Wednesday, with the USDX bouncing from almost 11-week lows and gaining 0.21%, supported by a rise in treasury yields, weak U.S. economic data, persistent inflation, and concerns over U.S. trade tariffs which boost demand for safe haven assets such as the dollar.
Investors are watching for Friday's U.S. PCE inflation data, which will heavily influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate path. While recent weak economic reports have raised hopes for rate cuts, the Fed's inflation concerns make immediate action unlikely. The PCE, the Fed's key inflation metric, will provide vital consumer spending and price insights.
Wall Street saw another negative session on Wednesday with all three main stock indices seeing minor losses despite Nvidia's quarterly earnings report which offered some support to the tech sector. Despite Nvidia's strong quarterly forecast, indicating continued robust demand for AI infrastructure from tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, concerns about overspending in the AI sector persisted. Nvidia's shares dipped slightly in after-hours trading, even after exceeding revenue expectations. Investors remain cautious, evidenced by the relatively flat performance of major Nvidia customers like Microsoft and Amazon, particularly after recent AI advancements from China's DeepSeek raised cost-effectiveness questions. While Nvidia's revenue soared, a projected margin squeeze due to the launch of its Blackwell chips further fueled investor caution.
Both Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced their third consecutive day of losses on Wednesday, with Bitcoin dropping to levels not seen since November. This downturn, marked by 5% and 6.39% declines respectively, is largely attributed to growing concerns over potential U.S. trade tariffs and fears of a slowing economy, prompting investors to seek safer investment options.
U.S. preliminary GDP numbers, weekly jobless claims, core durable goods orders, pending home sales and a series of speeches by FOMC members. For the week ahead some price action could be seen upon the release of the Core PCE Price Index, and the Chicago PMI.