Last night, the People’s Bank of China(Chinese central bank), raised its bank reserve requirements by 0.50 percent. This put pressure on the Shanghai Index which closed lower by 0.92 percent. Over the past week the highly followed Shanghai Index has been bouncing higher. As we should all know by now when the Shanghai Index declines or sells off the leading commodity stocks such as U.S. Steel Corp.(NYSE:X), Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.(NYSE:FCX), and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.(NYSE:CLF) could be under some selling pressure. 

This morning around 7:00 am EST the U.S. Dollar Index sold off sharply as the European Central Bank(ECB) hinted at raising interest rates. This caused the Euro currency to increase sharply higher. Traders and investors can follow or trade the CurrencyShares Euro Trust(NYSE:FXE) as this ETF will certainly be in play today. Generally, when the U.S. Dollar Index declines the major stock market indexes will inflate and trade higher.

Today, is also options expiration, therefore, it is prudent to expect some volatility during the first hour or two of the trading session. Usually, after the first couple of hours the market will become very quiet. Monday is the President’s Day holiday in the United States. Many traders and investors will often leave the trading session early on a Friday before the holiday. Friday’s are often a flat to slightly higher trading session and that is what we shall expect today as trading volume should be very light. 


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Nicholas Santiago
InTheMoneyStocks.com