Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, August 10:
1. Turkish lira hits fresh record low on political turmoil
Political turmoil continued to pull the Turkish lira down on Friday, hitting new record lows against the dollar as souring relations with the U.S. saw no signs of reaching a resolution. At 5:53 AM (9:53 GMT), USD/TRY jumped 6.72%, to 5.9216.
U.S. President Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Turkey over the continued detention of pastor Andrew Brunson, whom Turkish officials accuse of terrorism for his part of the failed 2016 coup, and no progress was made as delegates from both NATO countries met in Washington this week.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan brushed off concerns on Thursday, saying it was just a campaign against Turkey.
Erdogan and his newly appointed finance minister and son-in-law Berat Albayrak are due to speak at 7:00 AM ET (11:00 AM ET). It was announced on Thursday that Albayrak would present a "new economic model".
In other emerging markets currency, the Russian ruble continued its decline, hitting fresh two year lows, after the U.S. imposed fresh sanctions against the Kremlin for its alleged part in poisoning a former British spy and his daughter in the UK. At 5:54 AM (9:54 GMT), USD/RUB gained 0.25% to 66.8558.
2. Stocks head lower as Turkey’s woes dampen risk appetite
U.S. futures pointed to a lower open amid risk off sentiment in global markets, while market participants await the latest inflation data to be released on Friday. At 5:55 AM ET (9:55 GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures fell 103 points, or 0.40%, S&P 500 futures lost 13 points, or 0.45%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 37 points, or 0.49%.
European shares also fell on Friday as worries over a dramatic fall in the Turkish lira jolted financial markets amid concerns of the region’s banks’ exposure to upheaval in Turkey.
Asian stocks closed mostly lower on Friday as global investors opted to fell risk assets while they also continued to assess the impact of the latest tit-for-tat in the trade war between the U.S. and China.
China’s Shanghai Composite index managed to eke out meager gains after recording amid rampant volatility. The index had recorded seven straight swings of 1% or more, the longest stretch since Chinese markets crashed in 2015.
3. Inflation expected to keep Fed on track for 2 rate hikes
Investors will get a look at some more inflation numbers before many hit the road to get a jump on the weekend, with the data expected to support the case for the Federal Reserve to hike rates twice more this year.
The consumer price index (CPI) comes out at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT) Friday.
Economists expect that the CPI rose 0.2% in July, compared with June, and the year-over-year gain will be 3%. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is forecast to have risen 0.2% month on month. The year-on-year core CPI gain is expected to be 2.3%.
The Fed kept interest rates unchanged last week, as expected, characterizing the U.S. economy as strong and staying on track to increase borrowing costs in September and likely again in December.
4. Dollar hits 13-month high
Global trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainty sent traders fleeing to safe haven currencies, with the dollar hitting a 13-month peak and the yen also gaining across the board.
Investors have been paying close attention to increasing trade tensions with the latest news focusing on U.S. sanctions on Moscow, while Washington is also fueling the political feud with Turkey.
At 5:56 AM ET (9:56 GMT), the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, gained 0.43% at 95.87, just off an intraday high of 96.03, its strongest level since July 2017.
The yen benefitted from its own safe haven status, allowing it to make headway against generalized strength in the greenback. USD/JPY was last down 0.14% to 110.92.
5. Oil cautious after IEA warning on sanctions against Iran
Oil prices held around the unchanged mark in early morning trade on Friday as the International Energy Agency warned that the recent cooling in the market may not last.
"The recent cooling down of the market, with short-term supply tensions easing, currently lower prices, and lower demand growth might not last," the Paris-based agency said in its monthly report.
IEA warned that upcoming oil sanctions against Iran could bring turmoil to the market later in the year. U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian oil is expected in early November and could increase the potential of a global energy supply shortage.
Many countries, including Europe, China and Russia, oppose the sanction, but the White House wants other countries to stop buying oil from Iran.
"As oil sanctions against Iran take effect, perhaps in combination with production problems elsewhere, maintaining global supply might be very challenging and would come at the expense of maintaining an adequate spare capacity cushion," the IEA said.
U.S. production will also be on markets’ radar as Baker Hughes releases its weekly data later on Friday.
The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by 2 to 859 last week, providing some relief over escalating output stateside.
U.S. crude oil futures slipped 0.04% to $66.78 by 6:01 AM ET (10:01 GMT), while Brent oil edged forward 0.10% to $72.14.