Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Wednesday, January 24:
1. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin applauds weak dollar as Trump gears up for Davos
Even as the dollar wallowed near three-year lows on Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin waved aside worries, stating that the decline in the greenback would provide a boost to the U.S. economy.
“A weaker dollar is good for us as it related to trade and opportunities,” Mnuchin said at the gathering of billionaire investors and world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Also at Davos, when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to place tariffs on solar panels and washing machines, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed on Wednesday that there will be more measures taken on what he considers unfair trade policies from U.S. partners.
The comments from the public officials come even as Trump himself prepares to travel to the event. Trump is due to take an overnight flight on Wednesday night to Davos where he plans to meet with world leaders on Thursday to encourage investment in the United States and cooperation on national security issues, including the fight against Islamic State and North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
White House senior economic adviser Gary Cohn said Trump will use his speech to encourage global companies to invest in the United States and take advantage of Trump's corporate tax cuts, while stressing his "America First" policies and seeking more reciprocal trade policies from U.S. allies.
2. Gold rallies to 4-month high on dollar weakness ahead of data
Gold rallied to its strongest level since last September on Wednesday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar languishing at three-year lows.
Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
The dollar index, which gauges the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, wallowed at more than three-year lows. At 5:47AM ET (10:47GMT), it fell 0.46% to 89.47, its deepest nadir since December 2014.
Comex gold futures rose to a session high of $1,350.20 a troy ounce, a level not seen since September 8. It was last at $1,349.10 by 5:51AM ET (10:51GMT), up around $12.30, or 0.9%.
Market participants looked ahead to publication of Markit’s preliminary composite purchasing managers’ index for January, considered a leading indicator for the more widely-followed report from the Institute of Supply Management.
Also amid top tier data on Wednesday’s economic agenda, traders will digest existing home sales for December.
3. Earnings season continues full steam ahead
67 components of the S&P 500 have already reported earnings as of Tuesday’s close and growth in earnings per share is “re-accelerating”, supporting the wide-based stock rally according to The Earnings Scout.
“Sales growth acceleration justifies higher prices,” these analysts said.
Breaking the trend, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) looked set to slump nearly 7% after reporting its slowest revenue growth in four quarters on soft demand after the close on Tuesday.
In earnings scheduled for Wednesday, market participants will focus on reports from General Electric (NYSE:GE), United Technologies (NYSE:UTX), Ford Motor (NYSE:F), Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Discover (NYSE:DFS) or Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) among others.
4. Oil prices struggle for direction ahead of U.S. inventory data
Oil prices saw mixed trade on Wednesday after the American Petroleum Institute said in its weekly report released a day earlier that U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.755 million barrels, surprising consensus that had forecast a 1.6 million decline.
Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday at 10:30AM ET (15:30GMT), amid forecasts for a draw of around 1.0 million barrels.
Despite this, markets remain supported by strong economic growth and by supply restrictions led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that an average Brent price of around $60 was a reasonable forecast for this year, Interfax news agency reported.
U.S. crude oil futures gained 0.26% to $64.64 at 5:54AM ET (10:54GMT), while Brent oil lost 0.69% to $68.67.
5. Dow set to retake the forward march
Global stocks showed mixed trade on Wednesday, but the Dow looked set to retake the forward march after Tuesday's slip, following fellow S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to fresh record highs. At 5:55AM ET (10:55GMT) Wednesday, the blue-chip Dow futures rose 65 points, or 0.25%, S&P 500 futures advanced 5 points, or 0.18%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures gained 12 points, or 0.17%.
Elsewhere, European markets traded lower on Wednesday despite upbeat data that showed the euro zone private sector growing at the fastest pace in nearly 12 years as concerns over new U.S. tariffs dented market sentiment.
Markit said that its Flash Euro Zone Composite Output Index, which measures the combined output of both the manufacturing and service sectors rose from 58.1 in December to a near 12-year high of 58.6 in January, above forecasts for 57.9.
Even as Trump was expected to push forward with his America First ideology, Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno suggested at Davos on Wednesday that a more robust European single market rather than a trade war will be the “right answer” to challenges presented by American protectionist policies.
Earlier, Asian shares saw mixed trade with Japan’s Nikkei 225 off 0.8% as dollar weakness lent strength to the yen, hurting the country’s exporters.