Important data on inflation is due in the US today - 13.10.2020

On Monday, the US dollar index was almost unchanged. This morning it went up slightly. Investors are awaiting the US inflation data for September: the rise to 1.4% in annual terms is expected from 1.3% in August. In theory, higher inflation may limit the Fed's further easing of the monetary policy. Most market participants believe that if Democratic candidate Joe Biden wins the presidential elections on November 3, the Fed will expand financial stimulus. This could weaken the US dollar. China unexpectedly decided to restrict coal imports from Australia. This contributes to the weakening of the Australian dollar. The reasons for this decision by the Chinese authorities are not yet known. China imports about a quarter of Australian coal.

On Monday, US stock indices rose for the 4th day in a row. Democratic candidate Joe Biden leads polls ahead of the presidential election. His economic stimulus enlargement program supports the stock market. Yesterday, Apple surged 6% due to the company's plans to release a new iPhone 12. Investors believe that it will be in good demand. Shares of other high-tech companies, such as Amazon.com (+ 6%), Alphabet (+ 5%) and Microsoft (+ 3%) also rose in price. JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup will report for Q3 results today before the US trade session. FactSet now expects a 19.4% quarter-on-quarter decline in US companies' Q3 2020 versus the same period in 2019. This is better than its June forecast (-34.4%). US stock index futures went down this morning as Johnson&Johnson announced that it was suspending clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine. Earlier, another pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, made a similar statement.