Last week’s uncertainty and caution has quickly gone by the wayside as bulls have roared back to life to kick off March. President Trump’s announcement of a Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve has lit a fire under the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin has rallied from just above $80,000 to above $92,500, currently up about 10.6%.
The prospect of a significant ramp up in European military spending following weekend meetings with Ukraine has European bourses soaring today. The Dax is up 2.6%, the CAC is up 1.4%, and the FTSE is up 0.8%. Upward momentum on renewed investor confidence has continued into North America today where US index futures are up 0.2% to 0.6%.
The US Dollar is weakening significantly today. Gold is up 1.2%, Silver is up 2.4%, the Euro is up 0.9%, the Pound is up 0.8%. The Loonie is up a more moderate 0.4% as investors await President Trump’s decision on tariff levels this week. Commodities are strengthening with Copper up 1.5% and Crude Oil up 0.5%.
Manufacturing PMI reports have been rolling out from around the world and so far have been broadly better than expected, suggesting a strengthening global economy. Canada Manufacturing PMI (street 51.9) is due at 9:30 am EST, followed by US ISM Manufacturing PMI (street 50.5) and US Construction Spending (street 0.0%) at 10:00 am EST. There are a number of significant economic reports due this week including US ADP Payrolls and Service PMI numbers on Wednesday, followed by US Nonfarm Payrolls and Canada Employment on Friday.