Sydney Open Briefing: Friday, July 24, 2026
Sydney opens to a broadly weaker tone from the prior session, with major indices like the JP225 down 0.74% and the US500 lower by 0.29%. Gold, XAUUSD, also declined 0.60%. The US Dollar and Canadian Dollar showed strength, while the New Zealand Dollar was notably weaker, down 0.50%. The European Central Bank’s press conference registered a hawkish tone, scoring +0.65.
Overnight, US economic data presented a mixed picture. The Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Production registered 17, exceeding the 14 consensus, while the Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Composite Index came in at 9, below the 15 consensus. Treasury auctions saw the 10-Year TIPS yield 2.438%, the 8-Week Bill at 3.795%, and the 4-Week Bill at 3.73%. EIA Natural Gas Storage Change was 32B, below the 35B consensus.
Looking ahead, the session begins with Japan’s CPI excl. Food and Energy y/y due at Thursday 23:30 UTC, with consensus at 1.7%. Later, at Friday 06:00 UTC, the UK will release a suite of retail sales figures, including Retail Sales m/m and y/y, and Core Retail Sales m/m and y/y. Germany’s GfK Consumer Climate is also scheduled at the same time. France will provide its S&P Global Manufacturing PMI and Flash Manufacturing PMI data at Friday 07:15 UTC.
Traders will likely focus on the early release of Japan’s CPI excl. Food and Energy y/y.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Biggest moves since the previous session | JP225 -0.74%, XAUUSD -0.60%, DE40 -0.51% |
| Currency strength, 24h | CAD strongest at +0.41%, NZD weakest at -0.50% |
| Risk meter | +0.08 (mildly risk-on) |
Scheduled this session (High and Medium impact)
| Time | Ccy | Event | Impact | Consensus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23:30 UTC | JPY | CPI excl. Food and Energy y/y | Medium | 1.7% |
| 06:00 UTC | GBP | UK Retail Sales m/m | Medium | -0.3% |
| 06:00 UTC | GBP | Retail Sales y/y | Medium | 1.5% |
| 06:00 UTC | GBP | Core Retail Sales m/m | Medium | 0.6% |
| 06:00 UTC | GBP | Core Retail Sales y/y | Medium | 2% |
| 06:00 UTC | EUR | Germany GfK Consumer Climate | Medium | -28.1 |
| 07:15 UTC | EUR | France S&P Global Manufacturing PMI | Medium | 50 |
| 07:15 UTC | EUR | French Flash Manufacturing PMI | Medium | 51.0 |
Times are UTC. This brief describes measured market state and the published schedule. It is not financial advice and nothing in it is a trade recommendation.