The main market news for February 14-18

Last week was very interesting for the markets, as we saw the releases of the US Inflation and Disney’s earnings report. So let's see what we should await this week!

Forex

Last Thursday, the US CPI outperformed the forecasts (0.6% vs the forecast of 0.4%). As a result, the US dollar index got stronger, but the bullish pressure wasn't enough to break above the 50-day SMA (the 96 level). This week we will continue monitoring the situation in the US economy with the releases of PPI and retail sales. However, the most notable event happens on Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve publishes the FOMC Meeting Minutes. The market is currently pricing in 7 rate hikes in 2022, with one planned in March. The USD will strengthen if we find more hawkish hints in the Meeting Minutes. For EUR/USD, follow the key support at 1.1300 and the resistance at 1.1480.

Stocks

Last week was full of ups and downs for the US stock market. The major American index S&P500 (US500) managed to climb to the 100-day moving average but corrected towards 4450 on Thursday after the US CPI release. The same thing happened to the Nasdaq (US100), which could not break above the 15 000 level. As for the earnings season, Disney’s release made its stock gap higher. This week, we will see the releases of AIG, Cisco, Nvidia, and Walmart.

Oil & gold

After marking the high above the 90 level, Brent and WTI were consolidating at their highs. The non-eventful outcome of the OPEC+ meeting and the uncertainty over nuclear talks between Iran and the USA are the main factors that determine oil prices' performance. If more supply is added, the price of WTI will plunge to $86, and the price of Brent will go down to $88.5. As for gold, it fell below the $1830 level. If the American indicators show strength, the yellow metal will plunge to $1815-$1810. On the upside, the main obstacle lies at $1830.