AS & GLOBAL :
• Bursa saham AS ditutup melemah tipis, penguatan bursa tertahan oleh kekhawatiran terbaru mengenai krisis utang Eropa.
Penurunan euro membatasi laju saham‐saham AS, dimana keduanya bergerak dalam korelasi yang erat akhir‐akhir ini. Pasar juga terbebani komentar Ben Bernanke yang menyatakan bahwa tingkat pengangguran AS baru akan membaik dalam kurun 4‐5 tahun kedepan kemudian menutupi optimisme sebelumnya dimana Bernanke menyatakan membuka peluang stimulus dengan jumlah yang lebih besar. Indeks Dow Jones <. DJI> turun 19,90 poin atau 0,17% ke 11,362.19, sementara indeks S&P <. SPX> turun 1,59 poin atau 0,13% kelevel 1,223.12 dan Nasdaq <. IXIC> naik 3,46 poin atau 0,13% ke 2,594.92.
• Euro berlanjut melemah pada sesi Senin 06 Desember dan kemungkinan akan berlanjut melemah lebih jauh setelah Jerman menolak program jaring pengaman finansial yang lebih besar untuk Uni‐Eropa, yang kemudian menimbulkan kekhawatiran atas upaya untuk membendung krisis utang di kawasan itu. Pemerintah Jerman menolak memenuhi rekomendasi menteri‐menteri keuangan zona euro untuk meningkatkan besaran jaring pengaman keuangan bagi anggota Uni‐Eropa yang dilanda utang menjadi sebesar 750 miliar euro. Euro sempat jatuh lebih dari 1% mendekati level 1,3250 disebabkan aksi ambil untung para pelaku pasar setelah penguatan beruntun dalam 3‐sesi terakhir sebelumnya. Euro <EUR=EBS> tercatat turun 0,9% kelevel 1,3301, setelah sempat anjlok hingga 1,324. Euro juga melemah 0,8% kelevel 109,94 yen <EURJPY=>. Sementara dollar AS stagnan terhadap yen <JPY=> ke 82,63 yen.
• Harga emas dunia naik ke rekor tertinggi dan perak melejit ke level tertinggi dalam 30‐tahun terakhir menyusul naiknya kembali kekhawatiran tentang masalah utang Uni‐Eropa ditengah spekulasi bahwa otoritas AS mungkin memperpanjang pelonggaran moneter. Harga perak naik di atas 30 USD per ons untuk pertama kalinya sejak tahun 1980 pada Senin dan emas juga mencetak rekor tertingginya, akan tetapi volume tipis pada perdagangan kedua logam mulia tersebut menunjukkan prospek pelemahan dalam jangka dekat karena beberapa investor cenderung mengambil posisi jual menjelang akhir tahun. Harga spot emas <XAU=> naik 0,4% menjadi 1,419.65 USd per troy ounce, setelah sempat naik ke level tertingginya di 1,427.01 USD per troy ounce.
• Harga minyak dunia naik tipis ke level tertinggi dalam 26‐bulan terakhir mendekati level 90 USD per barrel dalam perdagangan yang
volatile seiring cuaca dingin di Eropa dan harapan bahwa pemulihan ekonomi yang kuat akan meningkatkan permintaan terhadap minyak. Harapan tersebut mengimbangi keprihatinan pada masalah utang Uni‐Eropa yang kemudian berhasil mengangkat dollar AS.
Harga minyak mentah AS untuk kontrak pengiriman Januari <CLc1> naik 19 sen kelevel 89,38 USD per barel, kenaikan penutupan beruntun dalam 4‐sesi terakhir dan merupakan yang tertinggi sejak 07 Oktober 2008.
• Outlook (Selasa, 07/Des./2010): Bursa saham Asia diperkirakan akan dibuka beragam pada sesi Selasa (07 Desember), setelah bursa saham global mengalami konsolidasi dimana investor cenderung berhati‐hati terhadap kondisi hutang di Uni‐Eropa dan munculnya prospek pelonggaran moneter AS.
The nonfarm payrolls fell far short of expectations and the unemployment rate rose again, and this was doubly surprising because of the recent appearance of improving data out of the US. Does the weaker greenback in the wake of this data make sense, however?
USD and US Employment Report
If there is one phenomenon we have been used to for many months now, it is the idea that the USD and risk appetite are irretrievably joined at the hip, with the USD falling every time equities rally and vice versa. We noted yesterday that the strength of this correlation seemed to be fading a bit, since many of the major equity indices were at new highs while the USD was still well off its recent lows. After today’s data, it appears the predominant thought is not of risk appetite, however, but the implications of this poor employment report on the Fed’s quantitative easing plans, which theoretically move back into high gear in the wake of a report like today’s. After all, half of the Fed’s mandate is related to employment (the other half being inflation).
So today’s ugly US employment report has really confused the market here. In normal times, it is bad for the USD to have negative US data – but these aren’t normal times. The question in these times is how the market chooses to react to the negative data in terms of risk appetite (higher because more easing keeps the liquidity party going or lower because the market finally starts to worry about growth implications of bad data?).
After the ugly data today we are seeing risk selling off, which has normally been USD supportive in this market cycle (regardless of the fundamental implications for the US economy). Something is not right here unless we are moving into a new market paradigm: it’s fine and makes sense for USDJPY to drop on today’s market reaction to the US data. It also makes sense or EURUSD to squeeze a bit higher as Euro sovereign risk spreads are easing and this data suddenly makes the US economy look relatively worse. But should AUDUSD to rip higher here? That makes no sense. Risk appetite should be the sole determinant of that pair’s direction and has been nearly tick for tick, seemingly forever. So the current reaction pattern cannot stand – either AUDUSD falls as equities fall or equities shake off the bad data here and rally and in doing so also justify the extension of AUDUSD higher today. (A few minutes after we are writing this, the market is bearing this out as stocks have bounced smartly – there are surely arbitragers and HFT operators looking at these kinds of opportunities.)

