The U.S. dollar fell against major currencies on Friday, with the dollar index (USDX) retreating from a one-year highs following five consecutive daily gains. Dollar saw strong support by market anticipations that the upcoming administration's policies, such as imposing trade tariffs, tightening immigration regulations, and increasing the deficit, would lead to higher inflation. In addition, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Thursday the U.S. central bank did not need to rush to lower interest rates, adding further support to the dollar and prompting traders to lower their bets for a high pace of rate cuts.
The CME FedWatch tool suggests that market participants are anticipating a more aggressive rate cut of 25 basis points in December, with a 61.9% probability, while odds for rates to remain unchanged are at 38.1%.
Oil prices experienced a modest increase on Monday as geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine heightened. Russia launched a significant air strike on Ukraine, while the U.S. eased restrictions on Ukraine's use of U.S.-supplied weapons. Despite this geopolitical risk, concerns about global oil demand, particularly in China, limited price gains.
Wall Street experienced another downturn on Friday, with all three major stock indices closing lower following the recent speech of Fed Chair Powell, which dampened expectations about a potential rate cut in December and ahead of a Q3 earnings report by NVIDIA which Is due on Wednesday. Tesla shares surged over 4% after-hours on Robinhood following Bloomberg's report that the U.S. Department of Transportation is prioritizing a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles. The development is seen as a major boost for Tesla, which has been leading the charge for fully autonomous driving. CEO Elon Musk has been a major supporter of President-elect Donald Trump and is now considered in his inner circle.
In the cryptos front, Bitcoin appears to have stabilized within the range of $89K to $92K over the past few sessions with investors looking for the next catalyst that could boost prices for the main cryptocurrencies beyond record highs, with Bitcoin potentially crossing the much discussed $100K mark.
For the week ahead, markets will most likely be focusing on upcoming U.S. manufacturing and services data along with existing home sales, jobless claims, the Philly Fed Manufacturing index and a consumer sentiment survey from the University of Michigan