America’s Roundup: Dollar stands tall as coronavirus fears fuel rush for funding, Wall Street ,dips, Gold slides nearly 3%,U.S. oil plunges to 18-year low as lockdowns trigger market meltdown-March 19th,2020

Market Roundup

• US Feb Building Permits 1.464M, 1.500M forecast, 1.550M previous

• US Feb Building Permits (MoM)  -5.5%    , 9.2% previous

• US Feb Housing Starts (MoM)  -1.5%,1.4% previous

• US Feb Housing Starts 1.599M, 1.500M forecast, 1.624M previous

• US Common CPI (YoY)    1.8%,1.8% previous

• US Feb Core CPI (YoY)  1.8%,1.7% forecast, 1.8% previous

• US Feb Core CPI (MoM)  0.7%,0.4% previous

• US Feb CPI (YoY) 2.2%,2.1% forecast, 2.4% previous

• US Feb CPI (MoM) 0.4%,0.4%    forecast, 0.3% previous

• US Crude Oil Inventories 1.954M, 3.256M forecast, 7.664M previous

• US Gasoline Inventories -6.180M, -2.890M forecast, -5.048M previous

Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT) 
   
• 21:45 New Zealand GDP (QoQ) (Q4)  0.5% forecast,0.7% previous 
   
• 21:45 New Zealand GDP (YoY) (Q4) 1.8% forecast,2.3%  previous

• 21:45  New Zealand GDP Annual Average (Q4) 2.2% forecast, 2.7% previous

• 23:50 Japan Feb National Core CPI (YoY)  0.6% forecast, 0.8% previous

• 23:50 Japan National CPI (MoM) 0.0% previous

• 23:50 Japan Feb National CPI (YoY ) 0.8%,0.7% previous

• 00:30  Australia Feb Employment Change 10.0K forecast, 13.5K  previous

• 00:30 Australia Feb Full Employment Change 46.2K previous

• 00:30  Australia Feb Participation Rate 66.1% forecast, 66.1% previous

• 00:30  Australia Feb Unemployment Rate 5.3% forecast, 5.3% previous  
 
Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases (GMT)    

• No significant events
 
Currency Summaries

EUR/USD: The euro declined against dollar on Wednesday, as markets grappled with the sheer scale of government programs and handouts aimed at softening the economic shockwave from the coronavirus. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank all held dollar liquidity sales on Wednesday, as part of the biggest co-ordinated funding injection by central banks since the 2007-09 financial crisis. The euro was down 0.80 percent at $1.0909. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.1072 (5 DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.1184 (9 DMA).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.0902 (Daily low), a break below could take the pair towards 1.9820 (23.6% fib).

GBP/USD: The British pound plunged on Wednesday to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985   as coronavirus fears and a global rush to hold dollars overshadowed stimulus efforts. Sterling has come under fierce selling pressure since hitting a two-month high above $1.31 last week but the selloff accelerated on Wednesday as traders dumped positions across the board in a mad scramble to get their hands on dollars. Against the dollar, the pound plunged as much as 5% to $1.1452, falling past the $1.1491 level hit during the October 2016 “flash crash”. That was the lowest since 1985 .Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.2154 (5 DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.2200 (Psychological level).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.1445 (5 DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.1400 (Psychological level).

USD/CAD: The Canadian dollar strengthened against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday after Canada unveiled C$27 billion aid package to offset coronavirus outbreak. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said his government would provide C$27 billion ($18.6 billion) in support directly to families and businesses struggling because of the coronavirus outbreak, and stands ready to do more. Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz spoke alongside Morneau at the news conference. The central bank is ready to provide markets with all the liquidity it needs, Poloz said. He did not rule out further rate cuts or even quantitative easing.  Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.4508 (23.6 %fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.4643 (Daily high).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.4462 (38.2 %fib ), a break below could take the pair towards 1.4282 (50% fib).

USD/JPY: The dollar declined against the Japanese yen on Wednesday as investors worried by the coronavirus outbreak rushed to the perceived safety of the Japanese yen. Traders are struggling to sort out the various moves by global central banks and governments to shore up economies bracing for what looms as a short but deep global recession from a pandemic still on the rise. The virus, which has so far infected over 205,000 people and killed more than 8,200 worldwide, has wreaked havoc in markets as countries around the world go into lockdown to contain the spread. Strong resistance can be seen at 108.61 (21 DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 108.91 (50 DMA).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 107.72, a break below could take the pair towards 107.00 (Psychological level). 

Equities Recap

European stock index futures fell more than 5% on Wednesday as fears over the relentless global spread of the coronavirus overshadowed sweeping U.S. stimulus measures to support businesses and contain the economic damage from the pandemic.

The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed up by 0.42 percent, Germany's Dax ended up  by 1.16 percent, and France’s CAC finished the up by 1.27 percent.

The S&P 500 index fell on Wednesday when trading resumed after an initial automatic 15-minute cutout, as investors priced in a complete breakdown in business activity and consumer spending from the coronavirus pandemic.

Dow Jones was last trading at 6.30 percent, S&P 500 ended up 4.70 percent, Nasdaq finished the day down by 4.70 percent.

Commodities Recap

Oil prices plunged on Wednesday, with U.S. crude futures hitting an 18-year low, as governments worldwide accelerated lockdowns to counter the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. crude   fell $6.58, or 24.4%, to settle at $20.37 a barrel. U.S. crude futures have lost 56% over last 10 days.

Gold fell as much as 2.7% on Wednesday as concerns over the global economic impact from the coronavirus outweighed stimulus measures by the United States, forcing investors to dump most assets for the safety of cash.

Spot gold fell 1.2% to $1,510.38 per ounce by 1235 GMT, having earlier risen more than 1%. U.S. gold futures were down 0.9% to $1,511.90 an ounce.

Treasury Recap

U.S. Treasury yields were higher on Wednesday, though off their session peaks, as investors watched for the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic to take shape.

The benchmark 10-year   yield was up 13 basis points in morning trading at 1.1257%, after reaching above 1.22% early in the morning.