Your market briefing

Sterling today: Pound dips on firm dollar as Fed, budget loom

France October consumer confidence 80 vs 85 expected Prior 86; revised to 85 That's a major blow. French household confidence falls to its lowest since 2013 in October as fiscal worries and concerns over the country's public finances weigh heavily on sentiment.

EUROPEAN SESSION In the European session, we don't have much on the agenda other than a couple of low-tier releases like the French consumer confidence and the Spanish unemployment rate. The data won't change anything for the ECB, so the market reaction will be muted.

There is a bit of a welcome relief in global bonds to start the new week, particularly in Europe after Moody's affirmed France's Aa3 credit rating. Meanwhile, Treasury yields have also settled down a fair bit after an extremely volatile period earlier this month.

European traders will be greeted with a rather bare economic calendar when they get to their desks today, and I reckon that might suit some market players just fine considering what is on the agenda later this week. In terms of data releases, we only have French consumer confidence for October and the ECB's survey on euro area lending for September.

Asia firms into Tokyo lunch: Japan and Korea stocks rise, AUD and NZD gain after Nasdaq lead Ethereum Foundation “dump” is a $6.4m treasury sale, not a crisis South Korea Q3 GDP grows 1.0%, beating forecasts as AI chip boom lifts exports China September industrial profits jump 14.4% y/y, rebounding from 4.2% in August Japan services PPI picks up to 3.7% as August revised low...

The rebound offers a modest positive surprise for Chinese assets at a time when sentiment is fragile, with onshore equities in a bear market and Morgan Stanley warning of further downside in offshore shares. Industrial and materials stocks are the most direct beneficiaries, and the data may slightly ease concerns about a sharp earnings slowdown.

An in-line print is unlikely to move the yen much on its own, but it removes one possible dovish surprise before Friday’s decision and keeps the backdrop supportive of December hike pricing.

This is a warning shot rather than an escalation, so the immediate market impact is likely confined to aerospace names, with Airbus and Boeing shares the most exposed to any shift in trade rhetoric.

The Australian dollar and front-end yields are set up for a binary reaction. With implied hike odds already above half, a trimmed mean at or above 1.0% would push November pricing closer to fully priced and support the currency.

The analysis adds a structural layer to an inflation backdrop already strained by energy, which argues against easing and supports the case for central banks on tightening paths, including the Fed and the Bank of Japan, to keep a hawkish bias into 2027.

Dollar rebounds as euro slips ahead of key central bank decisions