AS & GLOBAL :
• Bursa saham AS ditutup relatif stagnan setelah sempat menguat pada awal sesi ditengah aksi jual investor berkaitan dengan pernyataan dari The Fed mengenai
kondisi ekonomi AS yang kemudian menutupi data retail sales untuk November yang dirilis menguat. Indeks Dow Jones <. DJI> naik 47,98 poin atau 0,42%
kelevel 11,476.62, S&P500 <SPX.> naik 1,13 poin atau 0,09% ke 1,241.59 dan indeks Nasdaq <. IXIC> naik 2,81 poin atau 0,11% ke 2,627.72.
• The Fed, dalam pernyataan resminya mengungkapkan bahwa pemulihan ekonomi AS masih belum cukup untuk menurunkan tingkat pengangguran, dan
menegaskan kembali komitmennya untuk membeli obligasi pemerintah senilai 600 miliar USD. Langkah ini mendorong naiknya imbal hasil obligasi AS dan
secara bersamaan menekan saham‐saham keuangan dibursa Wall Street. Sebelumnya, dilaporkan bahwa penjualan ritel AS untuk November naik secara
beruntun dalam kurun 5‐bulan terakhir, menguatkan ekspektasi pada naiknya spending konsumen AS yang menyumbang sekitar dua pertiga dari ekonomi AS.
• Dollar AS naik terhadap euro dan yen pasca rilis pernyataan The Fed. Sementara itu produk‐produk Treasury AS melemah setelah pernyataan Fed tidak
menunjukkan tanda‐tanda bank sentral akan membatasi langkah‐langkah stimulus ekonomi, meningkatkan prospek percepatan pemulihan ekonomi dan inflasi.
Euro sempat membukukan rekor tertinggi selama 3‐pekan terakhir di 1.35 USD, untuk kemudian ditutup melemah 0,1% di 1,3379 <EUR=>. Sementara itu dollar
AS naik 0,3% terhadap yen ke 83,63 <JPY=> sedangkan Aussie dollar <AUD=> berhasil mencapai level paritas terhadap USD terdorong kenaikan harga minyak.
• Euro tercatat mengalami kenaikan tertinggi sepanjang 3‐pekan terakhir terhadap yen <EURJPY=R> menafikan rilis data ZEW Jerman yang dibawah perkiraan.
Namun euro kemudian beringsut melemah setelah lembaga pemeringkat S&P rating mengatakan peringkat obligasi Belgia berpeluang mengalami downgrade
dalam 6‐bulan kedepan, kondisi mana kembali mencuatkan kekhawatiran pada kondisi krisis finansial kawasan Uni‐Eropa. Dollar AS dan euro anjlok kelevel
terendah terhadap Swiss franc menjelang pengumuman sidang The Fed. Sebelumnya, pemerintah Swiss menaikkan estimasi pertumbuhan ekonomi untuk 2011
dengan mengatakan pertumbuhan konsumsi yang solid dan construction spending yang kuat akan membantu mengatasi perlambatan ekspor.
• Harga emas dunia ditutup dilevel tertinggi dalam kurun sepekan terakhir menyusul pelemahan dollar AS sebelum keputusan kebijakan Federal Reserve. Harga
spot emas <XAU=> sempat menguat hingga 1.407,70 USD per troy ounce untuk kemudian ditutup dikisaran level 1.395,39 USD per tory ounce. Meskipun sinyal
dari The Fed cukup positif, namun investor cenderung enggan mengambil posisi besar besar menjelang sesi akhir tahun.
• Harga minyak mentah AS melemah tertekan rilis pengumuman The Fed yang menyatakan pemulihan ekonomi masih lambat dan menegaskan kembali
komitmen bank sentral dalam pembelian obligasi pemerintah guna menstimulasi perekonomian. Minyak mentah AS untuk pengiriman Januari <CLc1> turun 33
sen dilevel 88,28 USD per barel.
• Outlook (Rabu, 15/Des./2010): Bursa saham Asia diperkirakan akan dibuka menguat terinspirasi bursa Wall Street yang naik terdorong rilis data retail sales
untuk November yang melebihi perkiraan.
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.)











