In trading yesterday, we saw the return of appetite for risk on markets in general. The S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq all rose by more than 1%, while safe-haven assets like gold, the yen and U.S. Treasury Bills saw major downturns. Fears related to Hurricane Irma and North Korea have dissipated, which has fed the demand for risk. Investors celebrated as Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm. Damage estimates were also downgraded from USD 200 billion to USD 49 billion. Although North Korea remained calm during celebrations marking the anniversary of its founding, the United Nations unanimously adopted new sanctions against the Hermit Kingdom, including a ban on textile exports.
The improving investor mood toward risk helped the U.S. dollar hold firm against its other major peers, with the exception of the Canadian dollar, which was able to pick up close to 50 points against the greenback yesterday.
Yusuf Kocagozli