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Markets are attempting a brief Santa rally ahead of Christmas as traders wind down for the year, with a rebound in U.S. consumer confidence providing the fillip, while the yen charges on after the Bank of Japan bombshell earlier this week.
The Japanese currency is hovering close to 131 per dollar, a far cry from the 32-year low of 151.94 it touched in October, with some analysts expecting the yen to appreciate further. There are others, however, such as Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) who expect the dollar to fight back.
The risk-on sentiment meant shares in Asia tracked Wall Street and rose 1.3%, while the dollar was on the back foot, helping to pull up gold prices.
In holiday-curtailed trading, investors will turn their attention to Britain’s Q3 GDP data which comes out on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters expect it to rise 2.4% year over year.
Meanwhile, China’s securities watchdog said the world’s second biggest economy will recover as strong stimulus policies take effect, even as it grapples with soaring COVID-19 cases after the country began dismantling its “zero-COVID” stance.
(Graphic: European stocks: https://www.reuters.com/graphics/EUROPE-STOCKS/klpyggjkopg/chart_eikon.jpg)
In the crypto world, the FTX saga flips to a new page as founder Sam Bankman-Fried was on his way to the United States to face fraud charges.
Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday:
Economic events: UK Q3 GDP data, Sweden PPI data for November
