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Risk on returned to global markets in Thursdays session with equities rebounding strongly on weak US data that refuelled hopes of a faster pace to the Feds rate cutting cycle come 2024. USD sold off sharply partly due to month-end flows ahead of the holidays but accelerated by a bis miss in Q3 US GDP which came in at 4.9% vs the expected 5.2%. This saw rate cut odds in March push above the 80% mark with yields and the Dollar tumbling as a result.

The Dollar Index (DXY) pushing below last weeks trough to new 5-month lows, also losing the 102 handle in the process. AUD outperformed after the weaker than expected US GDP reading and an upbeat market risk sentiment. AUDUSD poking its head above the psychological 0.68 for the first time since July before finding some resistance at the big figure.

The major resistance at 0.6900 the next big test to the upside if this rally continues. Gold pushed higher on the weaker USD and falling yields, XAUUSD again testing the resistance at 2047. The last break out of this level took gold to all-time highs a couple of weeks ago, making it a key level to watch for gold traders.

Ahead today the Feds preferred inflation gauge, the PCE price index will be the main risk event for FX traders.

US food company, General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS), reported its latest financial results for second quarter of fiscal 2024 before the US open on Wednesday. Revenue reached $5.139 billion for the quarter, falling short of analyst estimate of $5.354 billion. Revenue was down by 2% year-over-year.

Earnings per share (EPS) reported at $1.25 per share vs. $1.156 per share expected. EPS was up by 14% vs. the same period the year prior. Company overview Founded: June 20, 1928 Headquarters: Golden Valley, Minnesota, United States Number of employees: 32,500 (2022) Industry: Food processing Key people: Jeffrey Harmening (Chairman and CEO) CEO commentary "While we saw a slower-than-expected volume recovery in the second quarter amid a continued challenging consumer landscape, we generated bottom-line growth thanks primarily to strong HMM cost savings," CEO of General Mills, Jeffrey Harmening, highlighted the challenges the company faced in the quarter. "We’re adapting our plans to the evolving consumer environment and staying focused on driving long-term growth, with a priority on winning through innovation, brand building, and in-store execution.

At the same time, we’re stepping up our HMM performance and further eliminating disruption-related costs in the supply chain. For the full year, we’ve revised our topline outlook to account for a slower volume recovery, narrowed our profit and EPS expectations within our original guidance ranges, and maintained our outlook for strong free cash flow conversion," Harmening added. Stock reaction Shares of General Mills were down by around 3% on Wednesday after the latest earnings report.

Stock performance 1 month: -0.25% 3 months: -1.76% Year-to-date: -22.83% 1 year: -24.19% General Mills stock price targets Piper Sandler: $76 Evercore ISI: $72 HSBC: $74 Royal Bank of Canada: $76 Morgan Stanley: $58 Mizuho: $70 Goldman Sachs: $61 JP Morgan: $61 TD Cowen: $70 Deutsche Bank: $77 Wells Fargo: $70 General Mills Inc. is the 487th largest company in the world with a market cap of $37.64 billion. You can trade General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD. GO Markets now offers pre-market and after-market trading on popular US Share CFDs.

Trade the pre-market session: 4:00am to 9:30am, normal session, and after-market session: 4:00pm to 8:00pm, Eastern Standard Time. Why trade during extended hours? Volatility never sleeps.

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The World's second largest courier company, FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), released its latest financial results for second quarter of fiscal year 2024 after the market closed in the US on Tuesday. The US company fell short of estimates for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Revenue reached $22.2 billion vs. $22.356 billion expected.

Revenue was down by 2.6% vs. the same period a year prior. EPS reported at $3.99 per share (up by 25.47% year-over-year) vs. $4.194 per share estimate. Company overview Founded: May 5, 1971 Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee, United States Number of employees: 520,000 (2023) Industry: E-commerce, services, transportation Key people: Frederick W.

Smith (Executive Chairman), Raj Subramaniam (President and CEO) CEO commentary 'FedEx has delivered an unprecedented two consecutive quarters of operating income growth and margin expansion even with lower revenue, clear evidence of the progress we are making on our transformation as we navigate an uncertain demand environment,'' Raj Subramaniam, CEO of FedEx, said in a press release. 'We are moving with speed to make our network more efficient while delivering outstanding service to our customers through the peak season with the fastest Ground network in the industry. I am confident in our strategy as we make our global network more flexible, efficient, and intelligent,' Subramaniam concluded. Stock reaction Shares were down by 0.68% at the end of trading on Tuesday at $280 a share.

The stock price plummeted by around 7% in the after-hours trading as results were announced. Stock performance 1 month: +9.43% 3 months: +12% Year-to-date: +61.66% 1 year: +70.37% FedEx stock price targets TD Cowen: $293 Stifel Nicolaus: $285 Susquehanna: $315 HSBC: $330 Loop Capital: $275 BMO Capital Markets: $290 Deutsche Bank: $295 Citigroup: $300 Wells Fargo: $280 Bank of America: $330 UBS Group: $323 Morgan Stanley: $205 FedEx Corporation is the 231st largest company in the world with a market cap of $70.39 billion. You can trade FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) and many other stocks from the NYSE, NASDAQ, HKEX and ASX with GO Markets as a Share CFD.

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Volatility never sleeps. Trade over earnings releases as they happen outside of main trading hours Reduce your risk and hedge your existing positions ahead of a new trading day Extended trading hours on popular US stocks means extended opportunities Sources: FedEx Corporation, TradingView, MarketWatch, Benzinga, CompaniesMarketCap

USD was offered in Tuesdays session, with the US Dollar Index (DXY) printing a low of 102.060 ahead of the last major economic release for the year in Fridays Core PCE reading. Hawkish leaning comments from the Feds Bostic that he only sees two Fed rate cuts in 2024, less than the Fed median of three and well under the market pricing of six, failing to lend much support to the greenback. JPY was the obvious FX underperformer, seeing USDJPY hit a high of 144.95, just failing to breach the psychological 145.00 level before retracing somewhat.

JPY took a hit on the BoJ meeting where the central bank stood pat and unanimously left its rates and YCC unchanged. There was some pricing in on this pair of a hawkish surprise from the BoJ which didn’t materialise. AUD and NZD were the G10 outperformers.

AUDUSD benefitting from improved risk sentiment and the December RBA Minutes which suggested the Board considered whether to hike by 25bps or keep rates steady, NZDUSD caught a tailwind from upbeat NZ trade data. CAD strengthened on the hotter-than-expected inflation data, where the year on year figure came in at 3.4% a beat of the expected 3.3%. CAD also receiving support from a rally in crude oil prices on the back of Red Sea tensions affecting oil transportation.

USDCAD dropping to 5-month lows and seeing the daily RSI move into extreme oversold territory.

The US Dollar has continued its year end decline after the holiday break in thin volume. Traders still holding onto the view of a dovish Fed come 2024 seeing yields also drop creating a headwind for the Greenback. AUDUSD The Aussie pushed has pushed higher this week, taking advantage of a weak USD and a risk on environment.

AUDUSD breaking the resistance and key psychological level of 0.68 in Tuesday’s session and entering the Resistance zone from 0.6800 -0.6900 where rallies have faltered previously in 2023. The AU 10 and US 10 yield differential has also found some resistance at its current level and could temper further gains in this pair, AUDUSD looking like it has got a little ahead of itself at these levels. XAUUSD Gold also continued to grind higher in thin holiday volume, a weak USD and falling yields making the non-yielding asset look more attractive to speculators.

XAUUSD trading at the key level of 2070 USD an ounce that gold traders should be keeping a close eye on. The last time XAUUSD broke this level was December 4 when a surge in price saw gold hit all-time highs. Currently XAUUSD has found resistance here and attempts to breach have been rejected, a push through could see another run to re-test those highs, a hold of the resistance and a leg lower in XAUUSD looks likely.

FX markets enter the new year with a continuing backdrop of a weaker USD as traders bet on a Fed pivot in the first half of the year. That narrative could be tested later in the week with some key US manufacturing and employment data, including the monthly Non-farm payrolls. Key levels look to be tested this week in different FX pairs with AUDUSD and Gold both being interesting examples.

AUDUSD – Gone too far, too fast? AUSUSD has had a stellar run since late October, benefitting from the risk-on environment and following equity markets higher. A weaker USD and falling US yields as traders’ position for a Fed pivot also being a strong tailwind.

AUDUSD is now sitting in the 2023 “resistance zone” where upward momentum has faltered previously. Also of note is an extreme overbought signal from the daily RSI and a growing gap between the AUDUSD price and the AU 10-year - US 10-year yield differential. Combined, these three factors could see AUDUSD upside capped for now, this week’s Non-Farm payroll will be the main figure to watch, a strong report could see traders pare back somewhat on their Fed pivot bets, pushing this pair lower.

XAUUSD – Gold XAUUSD broke the resistance level at 2070 USD an ounce, but the bulls were unable to establish it as support and the gold price quickly retraced back below. Currently XAUSD is again flirting with this key level, where the bulls and the bears have been fighting it out. 2070 remains the level to watch this week, with US data that could certainly move yields and the USD, another push through and a hold as support could see gold make another attempt at all-time highs, a hold as resistance and the gold bull run could be over for now.