Insights 
VT 
Colombia’s retail sales in August grew by 12.4% year-on-year, falling short of the anticipated 14%. This discrepancy suggests slower growth than expected.
Australia’s unemployment is predicted to rise amid a cooling labour market. The September report may show an increase, with 17,000 new jobs added and an unemployment rate forecasted at 4.3%.
Market Uncertainties and Asset Trends
The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained flat despite earnings reports, indicating uncertain market sentiment. Meanwhile, gold surged beyond $4,200 due to increased demand as a safe-haven asset amidst political and trade instability in the US.
In currency markets, EUR/USD aims for 1.1780, recovering due to a weaker US Dollar. GBP/USD broke above 1.3400 but lost momentum after initial gains.
Silver also rose on safe-haven demand linked to US-China tensions and rate cut expectations from the Federal Reserve. Ethereum faced potential declines after significant liquidations, threatening a support test near $3,470.
Lido DAO’s price improved following the launch of its V3 testnet. This new development aims to enhance Lido Core contracts, supporting Lido DAO’s recovery.
Investment Implications in Current Environment
We see gold blasting past $4,200 an ounce, which tells us that fear is the main driver in the market right now. The high demand for safe havens is being fueled by chaos in US politics and ongoing trade disputes. This suggests that buying call options on volatility itself, through VIX futures, or on gold ETFs could be a strong strategy for the coming weeks.
The US Dollar is weakening, not strengthening, because the market fears the problems are domestic, like a potential government shutdown and Federal Reserve rate cuts. Looking back at the debt ceiling crisis of 2023, we saw a similar pattern of dollar weakness amid internal political strife. Current Fed funds futures show a greater than 70% probability of a rate cut before year-end, which should keep pressure on the dollar and favor put options on dollar index funds.
Currencies tied to global growth, like the Australian and New Zealand dollars, are showing significant weakness. With the upcoming Australian jobs report on October 16th expected to show a cooling labor market with unemployment rising to 4.3%, we anticipate more downside. This makes buying put options on the AUD/USD pair a logical way to position for further declines driven by both local data and global risk aversion.
Even with some positive earnings, the Dow Jones is flat, showing that investors have very little appetite for risk. This caution is also reflected in the crypto markets, where assets like Ethereum are under pressure and threatening to break key support levels. We believe traders should consider protective puts on major equity indices like the S&P 500 to hedge against a potential market downturn.
