Equity futures are holding steady as markets prepare for more Q2 earnings to hit the wires. With earnings already expected to contract more than 6% this quarter, it shouldn’t be difficult for earnings to surprise to the upside.

The dollar is on hold as markets wait for the next catalyst to decide whether there is more pain for the greenback or whether we’ll see a bit of short covering.

Treasury yields have continued to drift lower, with markets weighing the balance of risks between growth and inflation as skewed to the downside. Interest rate futures are currently pricing in close to 140bps of cuts from the Federal Reserve by the end of 2024.

Commodity markets are painting a mixed picture today, with energy and base metals staying close to recent lows while precious metals have recovered their recent drop to trade close to last week’s highs. The main focus points on the calendar today are Canadian CPI data for June and US Retail Sales.

Canadian CPI

Markets are currently pricing in a close to 70% chance that the Bank of Canada (BoC) won’t be hiking again at their upcoming meeting in August. Based on the recent fall in CPI, PPI, earnings, and April GDP data, this view seems appropriate.

A big miss in today’s CPI data should be all the evidence that markets need to expect that the BoC is done hiking rates as part of their current cycle, which can potentially provide some shorting opportunities for the currency.

US Retail Sales

We need to trade the US Retail Sales event with a bit of caution as the dollar failed to rally on Friday despite a very solid Consumer Sentiment report. However, at the current levels and after last week’s big drop in the dollar, there is very little appetite for us to try and chase the dollar lower on a miss in Retail Sales.

The more attractive opportunity from a risk-to-reward perspective is to look for short-term upside opportunities in the dollar if Retail Sales sees a much stronger than expected print.

Overall, markets are bracing for more earnings and key economic data this week.
Investors should be prepared for volatility and to take advantage of any opportunities that arise.

This material is for general information purposes only and is not intended as (and should not be considered to be) financial, investment or other advice on which reliance should be placed. INFINOX is not authorised to provide investment advice. No opinion given in the material constitutes a recommendation by INFINOX or the author that any particular investment, security, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.

All trading carries risk.