(US dollar) non farm payroll, GDP vs Quarterly income statements (shares)

Hello all, I am new to markets and am not very certain of many factors.

I'm looking into short term investing based on economic reports and at the moment I'm caught between two paths, I will explain why I have come to this conclusion and maybe some people can give me advice on my current ideas or generate new better ideas.


Foreign exchange (AUD/USD) There are some really good economic figures released monthly to trade the US dollar, primarily the non farm payroll and GDP figures, the idea would be to invest long or short in the US dollar and hold for perhaps a few days, possibly upto a week upon release of the monthly figures and then exit, these economic releases are not only shorter time frame (monthly) but also do very much so influence the market to move.

Shares, investing in company or equity index, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe most companies release their income statements quarterly at the minimum, this would mean about 4 trades throughout the year rather than 12 with the non farm payroll, the other thing is I'm not sure how much volatility capital gains and losses on the quarterly reports can create in a share, what I do know however is that the non farm report definitely creates desired volatility in the US dollar.

For these reasons I am a little unsure of shares but here is the reason I am considering shares..

Less exposure the multiple economic factors - The US dollar is affected and exposed to so many different and complex economic factors, this could make it a bit more difficult to make profitable investment decisions, shares in a single company however aren't as directly exposed to such large and diverse economic factors, therefore possibly making them an easier product to profitably invest in.


So there are pros and cons to each avenue and for now, I can say I'm more confident investing in the US dollar than shares, but I would enjoy reading some insight based on my concepts.


Thank you