THIS WEEK
The highlight of this week is probably going to be the Australian Employment data, due Thursday 12.30 am GMT. Australian employment rate worsened in January, increasing 6.0%- the highest level in a decade. Above that, the Australian economy lost 3.700 jobs, mainly due to some turbulence in the mining industry, which saw a big decline in the full time positions. Australia is currently facing a big decline in the mining-related investment, so it appears that other sectors of the economy should pick up growth in order to fill this gap. Anyway, the Australian unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 6%, while the economy is predicated to add 15.300 new jobs. Should the number go in line with expectations, we will most likely see a big spike in the AUD/USD which could potentialy create profitable trading opportunities for CallandPut traders.
EUROPE
Uncertain moods dominated the market last week, as market confidence was underpinned by the threat of Russian military intervention in Crimea. Both European and Russian markets plunged following the news that Russian military occupied the majority of peninsula, deploying vehicles and infantry on strategically-important points within the Island. Russia’s actions were met with severe criticism across the globe, with both EU and US unanimously condemning its actions and calling for the peaceful resolution of the crisis. Russian officials however denied their presence on the island, instead claiming that military personnel on the peninsula was a spontaneously-organized group. Major European indices plunged following the news from Crimea, with FTSE100 and DAX30 losing over 150 points for the week.
US
Also on the forefront last week was the release of US Non-Farm payroll report ,which revealed that 175.000 new jobs were added in the US economy in the February, far better than the 150k rise projected by the economists. This most probably gave the Fed more free space for the Federal Reserve to continue with the tapering of the economic stimulus program. The report had a positive effect on the US market, with Dow Jones and S&P continuing to float around its historical maximums.
ASIA
China’s exports fell in February, swaying the trade balance into deficiency. Asian stocks fell sharply ,as surprisingly week Chinese data rattled investors, who had already been on the edge due to developments in Ukraine, and now have also been scared by the slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.