- European stocks unable to hold onto gains and honour the recent resistance levels.
- German inflation declines back to 2.2% as inflation in June eases more than expectations.
- ECB President Lagarde indicates the central bank may keep interest rates unchanged this month to gather more inflation data.
- Oil prices at a 2-month high due to a rise in geo-political tensions in the Middle East and Caribbean Hurricane.
GER40 – A Hawkish ECB Pressures European Stocks!
The German DAX fell during the European session due to the strong price gap which measures 1.04%. As a result, the index still rose by 0.48% by the end of the US trading session. The index is being supported by two factors: The failure of France’s far-right party to win a majority, which increased risk sentiment, and German inflation which read lower than expectations.
However, the DAX is also slightly under pressure from the ECB President’s comments. Mrs Lagarde said the central bank will pause and not lower rates for the time being. The ECB is looking to obtain 2 months of inflation data before determining whether the risk of inflation is subsiding. If not, further adjustments. This morning, Pierre Wunsch, a member of the ECB governing council, said the economy is underperforming but the ECB believe it will recover. Philip Lane advises the ECB believes the Eurozone’s inflation will remain at the “mid-twos”. A concern for inflation is the current rise in oil prices which currently is close to a 2-month high and continues to rise in today’s Asian session.
The data supports a further cut in rates, but comments from the ECB don’t correspond with the latest inflation reading. The hawkish comment from the ECB is known to have pressured the DAX, but technical analysis will be key as bullish price movement is still possible. Particularly as German inflation falls back to 2.2%. A key price driver for the day will be the Core CPI Flash Estimates at 09:00 GMT and President Lagarde’s speech at 13:30 GMT.
In terms of technical analysis and signals, the DAX opened on a bearish price gap and has declined a further 0.20%. However, price gaps are normally filled and can trade back into a correction. In addition to this, the price on the 2-hour chart continues to remain above the 75-bar EMA and 100-bar SMA. If the price declines below 18,267.31, sell trades can materialize, otherwise, the main signal on the 2-hour chart, remains a bullish trend with large retracements.
EURNZD – The NZD Continues To Be The Worst-Performing Currency!
The best performing currency continues to be the Euro as it was on Monday. The Asian session’s worst performing currency is the New Zealand Dollar. On the 2-hour chart, the exchange rate is witnessing strong signals indicating a bullish trend, as seen since June 24th. However, the price on smaller timeframes indicates the asset is about to form a retracement. Therefore, investors should note the volatility despite the clear bullish signals.
At this point, traders can’t use the breakout level or Fibonacci entry points due to the head and shoulders pattern and the significantly higher price. The asset has risen in value for 5 consecutive days regardless of the latest German inflation reading. One of the key drivers for the Euro is the hawkish comments from the European Central Bank. However, this can lose its importance if today’s inflation estimates read lower than expectations.
If the inflation estimates are lower than expectations and the Euro declines, a signal for a retracement will be triggered at 1.77083. However, a longer-term downward trend is not yet possible unless the exchange rate gains larger bearish momentum. Whereas, if the Eurozone inflation estimates read more than 2.5% and the EURNZD breaks the 1.77442 level, buy signals are again an option.
Michalis Efthymiou
Market Analyst
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