Market Brief Pound Caps Off a Big Week with a Surge to 7Week Highs at 125

Matt Weller
By :  ,  Head of Market Research

Market Brief: Pound Caps Off a Big Week with a Surge to 7-Week Highs at 1.25


  • FX: The British pound was the strongest major currency, taking GBP/USD to its highest level in seven weeks. The loonie was the weakest major currency on election concerns, dropping to a nine-day low against the greenback.
  • US data: US retail sales came in mixed, with the headline figure printing at +0.4% m/m vs. +0.2% eyed, but the “Core” reading was flat vs, a +0.1% reading expected. Separately, UofM Consumer Sentiment beat expectations at 92.0 vs. 90.8 eyed.
  • See the key trends and themes we’ll be watching next week!
  • Commodities: Both oil and gold fell by less than 1% on the day.

  • US indices finished mixed, but the Dow nonetheless maintained its winning streak. This week’s big story was the outperformance of value stocks over growth.
  • Materials (XLB) were the strongest sector on the day while REITs (XLRE) brought up the rear.
  • Stocks on the move:
    • Apple (AAPL) dropped -2% after Goldman Sachs lowered its price target in the wake of Apple’s TV+ announcement.
    • Broadcom (AVGO) fell -3% after announcing a disappointing full-year revenue outlook yesterday.

Related tags: Forex Indices Shares market

Open an account today

Experience award-winning platforms with fast and secure execution.

Web Trader platform

Our sophisticated web-based platform is packed with features.
Economic Calendar