We begin the day with a clearly positive sentiment across the markets. The European session opens in the green, taking cues from yesterday’s strong performance. Futures across the board are climbing, pointing to continued optimism and risk appetite among investors.
On the currency front, safe-haven currencies like the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc are weakening, which further underlines the risk-on mode we’re seeing. Interestingly, the Australian Dollar is moving higher as well, despite a disappointing GDP reading from Australia earlier this morning. The economy grew by just 0.2%, well below the 0.4% expected, yet the Aussie remains firm, possibly supported by broader market momentum or technical factors.
In the commodities space, gold initially pushed higher during the Asian session, but as Europe opened, we saw a bearish reversal suggesting a shift in sentiment away from safe havens. On the flip side, oil continues to perform well this week, pushing higher and contributing to the broader upbeat tone in the markets.
Looking ahead, today’s economic calendar remains packed. Key events include:
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ADP Non-Farm Employment Change (U.S.), expected at 111,000
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Bank of Canada Rate Decision, with consensus pointing to no change, holding steady at 2.75%
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ISM Services PMI (U.S.), expected at 52, a key gauge of service sector health
As we move through the day, all eyes will be on whether this early bullish tone can hold, especially with high-impact U.S. data and a rate decision out of Canada still to come.