Market fears abate slightly to start the new week

<p>On Friday, it was all about rushing to seek shelter as markets braced for the uncertainty over the weekend that may befall the Israel-Hamas conflict. But as things weren't as bad as feared, we're seeing traders and investors start taking baby steps again to test the waters to start the new week. Here's a snapshot of things so far today:</p><ul><li>Gold down 0.9% to $1,914.42</li><li>WTI crude down 0.3% to $87.40</li><li>US 10-year yields up 4.2 bps to 4.671%</li><li>S&amp;P 500 futures up 10 points or 0.2%</li><li>DXY (Dollar index) down 0.2%</li></ul><p>The moves aren't close to erasing the flight to safety on Friday but it is a start at least. Gold is held back at its key daily moving averages as pointed out <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/israel-hamas-conflict-still-a-focus-point-to-start-the-new-week-20231016/" target="_blank" rel="follow">here</a> while the bond market continues to chop around for a bit as traders are still contemplating the Fed's higher for longer narrative as well in the bigger picture.</p><p>In FX, the overall movement among major currencies is still relatively light. EUR/USD is up 0.2% to 1.0530 while USD/JPY is just down 0.1% to 149.48 on the day. The aussie and kiwi are the bigger beneficiaries for now but that owes more to the latter's jump at the open, after the NZ election results <a href="https://www.forexlive.com/news/new-zealand-shifts-right-as-christopher-luxon-named-prime-minister-20231015/" target="_blank" rel="follow">here</a>. NZD/USD is up 0.7% to 0.5925 but even with a better risk mood, I'm inclined to fade the pop here although there's not much levels to pick at for the moment.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.