If you’ve ever travelled abroad, you’ve seen exchange rates at work. One year your pound buys you two cappuccinos in Rome, the next year barely one and a half. For traders, those shifts aren’t just holiday quirks – they’re opportunities. The big question is simple: what moves currency pairs?
A decade ago, most traders barely used the term ESG. Fast-forward to today, and you can’t not know it. Every fund manager, every headline, every panel discussion seems to have those three letters tucked in somewhere. ESG – short for Environmental, Social and Governance.
Stock markets often move in waves – one sector cools as another heats up. It’s how markets rotate. Recently, the tech-heavy “Magnificent Seven” names have lost steam while cyclicals like energy and industrials have been rallying. This is why traders are eyeing relative strength charts. These charts show which sectors are outperforming and hint at who might lead next. For example, a recent analysis noted consumer discretionary and communications stocks are firmly in the “leading” quadrant on a relative rotation graph, whereas tech is rolling into “weakening” territory. Healthcare is meanwhile just beginning to climb from lagging to improving, suggesting its turn could be near.
Central banks finally look ready to ease up. After two years of aggressive hikes, rates are edging lower. The BoE has trimmed Bank Rate to 4% from 5.25%, the ECB has cut back to 2% from its peak of 4%, and the Fed followed with a reduction last week.
Markets finally got what they had been waiting months for – the Fed’s first rate cut since late 2024. The move arrived in a week where the data told two stories at once: inflation showed fresh signs of stickiness, but broader momentum looked soft enough to justify easing.
Traders on the floor of the NYSE notice on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced a 0.25% cut in the Fed’s key interest rate. It was the Fed’s first rate cut since last December, lowering the federal funds rate to 4.00-4.25%.
September’s second week was all about balancing softer data with central bank caution and a few geopolitical flare-ups. In the US, the August CPI print came in at +0.4% MoM, pushing the annual rate to 2.9%, its highest level since January. Core CPI held steady at 3.1%, which was enough to reassure investors that underlying pressures aren’t spiralling.
Ever stared at the stock market and thought, where on earth do I start? Picking individual stocks can feel like choosing a single chocolate from a box without knowing the flavours – exciting, but also slightly nerve-racking.
Big global banks like JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC aren’t just cornerstones of the financial system – they’re also playgrounds for technical traders.
The Japanese yen is at a crossroads. After years of playing dual roles – safe-haven asset and funding currency for carry trades – it faces a turning point. BoJ is hinting at ending its era of ultra-low rates, so will the yen regain its safe-haven shine or remain the world’s favourite funding currency?
Eurozone inflation has nudged above the ECB’s 2% target, coming in at 2.1%. At first glance, that’s hardly anything, but traders pay attention to small shifts. The reason is because even a modest overshoot can shape expectations around interest rates, and that quickly effects equities. Markets reacted in kind: the STOXX 600 slipped about 1.5%, while the DAX dropped over 2% as investors re-adjusted their holdings. Even a small move in hard data can create a ripple effect on markets.
Every football fan knows the excitement before a big match, where the countdown begins and every detail matters. For the football pros, it’s about training, strategy and focus. The Liverpool FC team doesn’t just show up on game day, instead, they prepare, they analyze, and they rehearse every move to maximize their chances of victory.
Ever looked at a market chart and thought, what on earth just happened? Prices rise one day, drop the next, and investors are left confused. That’s volatility.
Traders often mark neat horizontal lines on charts for support and resistance, but sometimes those levels seem to hold firm and other times they break with no warning. Why the difference? The answer usually lies in volume. A support line backed by high trading volume is a lot more likely to hold than one drawn in thin air. As Investopedia notes, “the more buying and selling that has occurred at a particular price level, the stronger the support or resistance level is likely to be”. In short, volume analysis is the missing piece that confirms whether your support or resistance line is meaningful.
