In the current phase of the market environment, bad news is good. A sharp decline in US new home sales should be bad news for the real economy, but markets like it because it seems to postpone the time when the Fed will reduce the amount of monetary stimulus. The MSCI Asia Pacific index, which had lost 2,2% last week compared to the previous week, is rising today (+0,3%) for the second consecutive day. In truth, the data on new home sales is very volatile, and the mosaic of other data on the US real estate sector, from the mood of builders to existing home sales and house prices, all agree in describing a growing sector.
The yen is somewhere between 98 and 99 against the dollar, and the euro is still strong, at 1,338 – certainly stronger than European producers would like. Oil strengthened towards 107 $/b (WTI) and industrial metals are strengthening, starting from copper. Gold tries to reach 1400 and 1395 again.
Attachments: Bloomberg – Asian Stocks Rise as US Housing Data Eases Fed Concerns
