U.S. equity markets remain subdued while U.S. dollar holds its ground on increasing tensions in Eastern Ukraine despite the upbeat Final Services PMI (55.0) and ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (55.2).
The U.S. dollar (UUP, quote) bull ended the day on Friday despite a strong U.S. Jobs Report going into the weekend and concerns over China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index report scheduled for Sunday night.
The U.S. dollar in conjunction with today’s upbeat economic reports shook off the disappointing China (FXI, quote) PMI results. Remember a reading below 50 indicates the economy is contracting.
Bottom line: We affirm our view that the U.S. dollar should remain supported, but market participants will need to ride out the volatility of the Ukraine crisis. Headlines of fighting in six Eastern Ukraine cities and 46 people losing their lives will weigh on the U.S. dollar.