Archives of “February 2021” month
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CFTC commitments of traders: Small changes and speculative positions. EUR remains the largest position
Weekly forex futures positioning data from the CFTC for the week ending Tuesday, February 16, 2021
- EUR long 140K vs 140K long last week. Unchanged
- GBP long 22K vs 21K long last week. Longs increased by 1K
- JPY long 37K vs 35K long last week. Longs increased by 2K
- CHF long 14K vs 11K long last week. Longs increased by 3K
- AUD short 3K vs 1K short last week. Shorts increased by 2K
- NZD long 12K vs 12K long last week. Longs trimmed by 3K
- CAD long 8K vs 10K long last week. Longs trimmed by 2K
- Last week’s report
Highlights:
- EUR long position of 140K remains the largest speculative position
- AUD short of 3K is the smallest speculative position and the only short
- The JPY long of 37K is the 2nd largest position
- The largest change this week was 3K (CHF and NZD)
Key events and releases for the week starting February 22
Fed Powell testifies. RBNZ rate decision
Monday
- German Ifo business climate index. 4 AM ET/0 900 GMT
- NZD retail sales QoQ, 4:45 PM ET/2145 GMT
Tuesday
- UK employment statistics. 2 PM ET/0700 GMT
- Fed Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee. 10 AM ET/1500 GMT
- US conference Board consumer confidence. 10 AM ET/1500 GMT
- Bank of Canada Gov. Macklem speaks. 12:30 AM ET 1730 GMT
Wednesday
- US crude oil weekly inventory data: 10:30 AM ET/1530 GMT
- RBNZ rate decision. No change expected. 8:00 PM ET/0100 GMT
- RBNZ press conference. 9 PM ET/0200 GMT
- Fed Powell testifies before House financial services committee. 10 AM ET/1500 GMT
Thursday
- NZD Final ANZ business confidence. 7 PM ET/0000 GMT
- US preliminary GDP. 8:30 AM ET/1330 GMT
Friday
- US Chicago PMI, 9:45 AM ET/1445 GMT
- G20 meetings – Day 1
4 down days in a row for the S&P index. Longest losing streak this year
NASDAQ index and Dow industrial average close marginally higher. Russell index surges
The S&P index closed lower for the 4th consecutive day. That is the longest losing streak for the year
- S&P and NASDAQ post the 1st weekly loss in the 3 weeks
- NASDAQ and Dow industrial average have modest gains on the day
- Dow’s 3rd straight weekly gain
- Russell 2000 index surges by 2.18%
- For the week, the Dow industrial average is the only gainer
a snapshot of the final numbers shows:
- S&P index -7.23 points or -0.18% at 3906.74. The high price reached 3930.41. The low price extended to 3903.07
- NASDAQ index rose 9.11 points or 0.07% at 13874.46. The high price reached 13985.58. The low price extended to 13842.60
- Dow industrial average rose 0.98% or less than 0.00% on the day at 31494.32. The high price reached 31647.53. The low extended to 31469.34
- Russell 2000 rose by 48.3 points or 2.18% at 2266.69. The high price reached to 2275.87. The low price extended to 2218.81
For the trading week:
- Dow industrial average gained 0.2%
- S&P index fell -0.25%
- NASDAQ index fell -1.08%
- Russell 2000 fell -0.99%
Year-to-date:
- Dow industrial average, +2.9%
- S&P index, +4.01%
- NASDAQ index, +7.65%
- Russell 2000, +14.6%
For the last 12 months:
- Dow, +7.31%
- S&P index +15.37%
- Nasdaq index +41.33%
- Russell 2000, +33.75%
Thought For A Day
European equity close: Strong finish with Italy and Germany lagging on the week
Closing changes for the main European equity bourses:
- UK FTSE 100 +0.3%
- German DAX +0.8%
- French CAC 40 +1.0%
- Italy MIB +1.1%
- Spain IBEX +1.3%
On the week:
- UK FTSE 100 +0.8%
- German DAX -0.4%
- French CAC 40 +1.4%
- Italy MIB -1.0%
- Spain IBEX +1.4%
When you factor in currency, the FTSE 100 was the strongest on the week. The market itself is fighting against GBP strength, but there is a lot to like in this chart, particularly for foreign investors:

Nikkei 225 closes lower by 0.72% at 30,017.92
The equities rally takes more of a breather towards the end of the week

Japanese stocks see the momentum in getting above 30,000 ease a little as risk sentiment in general looks to be more weary ahead of the weekend. That said, the Nikkei still posted 1.7% gains on the week so that’s more indicative of the bigger picture.
Chinese equities are still looking rather mixed and playing catchup after the long break, with the Hang Seng down 0.2% but the Shanghai Composite is up 0.5%. However, both are trading at the highs right now as we look towards the latter stages of the session.
Elsewhere, US futures are down but off earlier lows at least with S&P 500 futuress seen down ~0.15% as we look towards European morning trade today.
That is keeping the risk mood more tepid in general with the market still weighing up the moves in the bond market earlier in the week, among other things.
US Treas Sec Yellen speaking on stocks now – valuation very high, need to be careful
US Treasury Secretary Yellen says in the current low-interest rate environment valuations are very high
- Need to be careful in some sectors
Also:
- increased prevalence of zero commission trading has spurred retail investors to get more involved in the market
- SEC will prepare a report on trading volatility, need to see if trading practices are consistent with investor protection
Unrelated:
- Biden admin in process of evaluating approach toward China
- we have an opportunity to work with allies and address China’s unfair practices
- is looking at if tariffs work
- expects China to adhere to commitments made on trade
- US tariffs in place on China’s goods will remain for now, evaluating what is appropriate going forward