Summary
- Market roundup for Friday portrays positioning for FOMC, with most data pointing to three 0.25% rate cuts in 2025.
- Michigan Consumer Sentiment flashed a four-month low, but Five-Year Inflation Expectations edged higher.
- Trade war concerns grow as the U.S. pushes G7 for more tariffs on India and China, while Mexico levies 50% levy on China goods.
- Geopolitics remains dicey, with no major reaction to Doha, Poland attacks testing the waters.
- Crypto traders remain optimistic with new developments, despite paring weekly gains of late.
- U.S. equity benchmarks dribble near record highs as traders brace for next week’s key data/events.
Market Roundup for Friday: Pre-FOMC Consolidation in Play!
The risk complex stays dicey early Friday in New York as caution grows ahead of next week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), with most data already confirming rate cuts, but the Fed isn’t known for surrendering. Meanwhile, the trade war fears renew amid statements from China and U.S. President Donald Trump, whereas geopolitical tensions prevail, but a lack of fresh developments and the market’s little interest kept them in the dark.
Against this backdrop, Bitcoin (BTC) posts modest losses at a three-week high surrounding $115K, while the spot Gold (XAU) rises to $3,650, staying within a four-day trading range after hitting a record high. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) pares weekly loss with mild gains near 97.65.
Starting with today’s preliminary readings of the University of Michigan’s (UoM) survey data for September, the headline the Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) drops to a four-month low of 55.4 from 58.2 prior, versus 58.0 market forecasts. That said, Consumer Expectations Index also eased to 51.8 from 55.9, compared to the analysts’ estimations of 54.9. Further, UoM One-Year Consumer Inflation Expectations reprints 4.8% figure, but the Five-Year Expectations hit a three-month high of 3.9%, versus 3.5% prior.
Earlier in the week, the Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) have been firmer, but the employment clues kept flagging the job market fears. This bolstered the dovish bets about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s (Fed) Interest Rate Decision, up for September 17. Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Fox TV interview that the Fed is always late on interest rates, reinforcing his push for lower rates.
Elsewhere, trade tensions intensified as the Financial Times (FT) reported that the U.S. will push the Group of Seven (G7) to impose high tariffs on China and India over Russian oil imports. G7 finance ministers are meeting on Friday to discuss these measures.
Separately, Mexico announced 50% tariffs on Chinese cars worth $52 billion, under U.S. pressure. In response, China’s Ministry of Commerce warned that the tariffs would seriously affect Mexico’s business environment and pledged to take “necessary measures” to safeguard its “legitimate rights and interests.”
Crypto, Equity Update
In the crypto universe, most coins pared weekly gains as markets eye the next week’s U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy meeting. However, Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE) remain firmer amid upbeat fundamentals and technical breakouts.
Also Read: What is Fueling Dogecoin (DOGE) Price Upside This Week? Read Here!
Elsewhere, an Ethereum-based memecoin Little Pepe ($LILPEPE) gained the market’s attention as it crossed $25.0 million mark in presale. The token stood out with its Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) ties and the 15 ETH community giveaway.
For More Details: Little Pepe Memecoin Soars Past $25M Presale, Launches 15 ETH Giveaway
On the same line, an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for Winklevoss twins’ crypto exchange Gemini marked headlines with 20x subscription while raising $425 million. The stellar subscription could be linked to the founders’ crypto history, upbeat offering and Nasdaq’s $50.0 strategic investment.
Read More: Gemini IPO Ignites Market Frenzy with $425M Raise After 20x Oversubscription
Meanwhile, Vietnam faced a massive cyber attack on its National Credit Information Center (CIC), exposing sensitive financial data and flagging a national security risk as the hacker group Shiny Hunters allegedly Government-issued IDs, military IDs, and tax identification numbers.
Also Read: Massive Vietnam Data Breach: National Credit Center Hacked – Protect Your Crypto!
On a different note, Bloomberg’s crypto analyst Eric Balchunas raised expectations of witnessing the first U.S. memecoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), $DOJE ETF, boosting market optimism amid anxiety before the Fed’s interest rate decision.
Read more crypto updates like this in our Coin Bytes.
Talking about the equities, Wall Street bulls take a breather after reaching a record high as markets brace for the U.S. central bank’s action in the next week. With this, Dow Jones prints mild losses, but the S&P 500 remains directionless, whereas Nasdaq hit another record high above 22,000 despite posting mild gains by press time.
On Thursday, all three U.S. stock indices hit record highs, led by the Dow Jones. That said, Adobe shares rose due to its after-market earnings report, while Paramount Skydance (PSKY), Synopsys (SNPS), Alibaba American Depositary Receipts (ADR) (BABA), Tesla (TSLA), Snap (SNAP), and Ford Motor (F) also contributed to the market’s optimism.
- Gold stays firmer, posting mild gains around $3,650 within a four-day trading range.
- Bitcoin (BTC) retreats from a three-week-high, modestly offered around $115K as we write.
- Ethereum (ETH) hits a fortnight top, up for the fourth consecutive day near $4,545 at the latest.
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rebounds, pares weekly loss near 97.70.
- Wall Street drifts, with Dow Jones posting mild losses, S&P 500 staying inactive, but Nasdaq holds gains after all refreshed record top the previous day.
- WTI Crude Oil recovers, reversing the previous day’s heavy losses with 1.5% intraday gains to $63.20 as we write.
Pre-Fed jitters eyed…
Looking forward, a light economic calendar and news flow could join the market’s cautious mood before next week’s Fed interest rate decision to let traders consolidate the weekly moves. This could help the U.S. Dollar to hold its latest corrective bounce and restrict immediate gains of cryptocurrencies, as well as equities. However, Gold might edge higher, and can even refresh the record top if an unexpected surprise erupts from the trade and geopolitical frontier.
Also read: ModStealer Malware: All You Need to Know About Digital Asset’s Threat
