Daily Market Commentary 5th November 2020

Markets were all about the US Presidential elections. The election was extremely tight all night and was still undecided the following day. This may go on for some time, even after the result is posted, as the lawyers become more involved. US equity markets surged and the Dollar retreated, despite the lack of result, but volatility is likely to continue for days to come. The USD fell spectacularly, during the election evening, when markets pointed to a Trump victory. The Dollar came roaring back, as results in key battle ground states were deferred, overnight.  The EUR trades 1.1710, while the GBP fast approaches 1.3000, after a volatile 24 hours.

The ADP Jobs reported an additional 365,000 jobs, which was well below expectations, but markets were largely ignoring economic data. US and European PMI data both showed gains , although future European data will be affected by the current virus lock-downs. The AUD traded 0.7170, after falling to as low as 0.7050, following earlier gains above 0.7200. The NZD experienced similar volatility and finally settled just below 0.6700. Local markets will look at Australian Trade data and NZ Business Confidence, but the real moves will be determined by US election results.

Market action continues, in the extreme and are certainly not boring!