Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei up 0.15 %, Shanghai Composite fell 0.50 %, Hang Seng rose 0.50 %, ASX 200 gained 0.35 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1263 (+0.40 %), Silver at $15.28 (+0.95 %), WTI Oil at $34.80 (+0.70 %), Brent Oil at $37.20 (+0.35 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.83, UK 10 year yield at 1.42, German 10 year yield at 0.17
News & Data:
- Australia Retail Sales (MoM) Jan: 0.3% (exp 0.4% prev 0.0%)
- Japan Labour Cash Earnings (YoY) Jan: 0.4% (exp 0.4% prev 0.0%)
- Japan Real Cash Earnings (YoY) Jan: 0.4% (prev rev 0.2%)
- PBoC Fixes Yuan At 6.5284 (prev 6.5412)
- Asian shares set for best week in 5 months, await US jobs data – RTRS
- Wall Street snaps up shares in late-day scramble – RTRS
Markets Update:
The US Dollar came under pressure yesterday, following several weaker than expected US econ data releases. Initial jobless claims, factory orders, Markit Services PMI and ISM Services Employment all missed expectations and all of the major currencies rallied vs the USD. EUR/USD rose from 1.0850 in the early EU session to a high of 1.0970. In Asia, it gave up some of those gains, declining to 1.0935, but it remains bid overall.
GBP/USD extended its recent gains and rose to a high of almost 1.42 in yesterday's NY session. In Asia, it fell from 1.4180 to 1.4150 and spend then the rest of the session consolidating between 1.4150 and 1.4170. Resistance is seen at 1.4250 and 1.4330.
USD/JPY had a mixed performance in the past 24 hours. The broad USD weakness put it under pressure, but the risk-on sentiment helped to prevent bigger losses. In Asia, it started its day around 113.24 and rose to a high of 113.76 as the Nikkei rallied as well.
There are no major events until the release of US employment data at 1330 GMT and markets could remain quiet until then.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:00 GMT – Italian GDP
- 13:30 GMT – US NFP
- 13:30 GMT – US Unemployment Rate
- 13:30 GMT – US Average Hourly Earnings
- 15:00 GMT – Canadian Trade Balance
- 15:00 GMT – Canadian Ivey PMI
