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America's Roundup: Dollar dips after Fed signals no hikes in 2019,Wall Street ends down, Gold gains, Oil hits four-month peak-March 21st 2019

Market Roundup

• Fed sees no rate hikes in 2019 .

• Fed plans balance sheet reduction slowdown.

• Trump says trade deal 'coming along nicely' with China.

• EU ready to grant Brexit delay if UK parliament backs deal.

• UK PM May to speak at 10 Downing Street at 2015 GMT on Wednesday – BBC.

• US 15 Mar, w/e MBA Mortgage Applications, 1.6%, 2.3% previous.

• US 15 Mar, w/e MBA Purchase Index, 251.5, 250.8 previous.

Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)

• 21:45 New Zealand Q4 GDP Prod Based YY, SA, 2.5% forecast, 2.6% previous

• 21:45 New Zealand Q4 GDP Exp Based QQ, SA, 0.6% forecast, 0.5% previous

• 00:30 Feb Employment, 14.0k forecast, 39.1k previous

• 00:30 New Zealand Australia Feb Unemployment Rate, 5.0% forecast, 5.0% previous

Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases (GMT)

• N/A General Council meeting of the ECB in Frankfurt.

• 08:00 Presentation by ECB supervisor Andrea Enria of the ECB Annual Report on supervisory activities 2018 to the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium

• 08:30 Swiss National Bank Monetary policy assessment in Bern

• 09:00 Norway Central Bank holds announcement of the Executive Board's interest rate decision and publication of Monetary Policy followed by a press conference in Oslo

• 12:00 Bank of England announces rate 

Currency Summaries

EUR/USD: The euro rose higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve held U.S. interest rates steady and its policymakers abandoned projections for further rate hikes this year as the central bank expects slowdown in the economy. The euro   was up 0.61 percent to $1.1421. An index that tracks the dollar versus a basket of six major currencies was down 0.45 at 95.74. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.1446(23.6% retracement level), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.1500 (Psychological level).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.1404 (38.2% retracement level), a break below could take the pair towards 1.1370 (50% retracement level).

GBP/USD: British pound declined against the dollar on Wednesday, after British Prime Minister Theresa May's request to delay Brexit until June 30 faced resistance from parts of the European Union. With no consensus in Britain's parliament over how to leave the EU, May was forced to seek an extension from the EU beyond the scheduled departure date of March 29. Markets have largely priced out the chances of a no-deal Brexit but uncertainty about how and when Britain will leave the EU have capped any rally in the pound. The pound was last trading at $1.3206, down 0.43 percent on the day. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.3222  (50% retracement level), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.3260 (61.8% retracement level).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.3159 (23.6% retracement level), a break below could take the pair towards 1.3093(March 5th low).

USD/CAD: The Canadian dollar strengthened against the greenback on Wednesday, as Canadian dollar was boosted by oil prices and weaker greenback. Greenback declined after The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday held  interest rates steady and announced it will not hike interest rates this year. U.S. crude prices rose to a four-month high after U.S. government data showed tightening oil and product supplies, but gains were capped by concerns over global economic growth amid the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute. At (2016 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3294 to the greenback. The currency traded in a range of 1.3255 to 1.3345. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.3328 (38.2% retracement level), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.3357 (11 DMA).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.3264 (50 DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.3200(Psychological level).

USD/JPY: The U.S. dollar declined sharply against the yen on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve said it would hold interest rates steady and its policymakers abandoned projections for further rate hikes this year. In a major shift in its perspective, the U.S. central bank also expects to raise borrowing costs only once more through 2021, and no longer anticipates the need to guard against inflation with restrictive monetary policy. The dollar was 0.62 lower versus the Japanese yen at 110.71. Strong resistance can be seen at 111.13 (38.2% retracement level), an upside break can trigger rise towards 111.62 (50% retracement level).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 110.50 (23.6% retracement level), a break below could take the pair towards 110.00 (Psychological level). 

Equities Recap

European shares retreated from near six-month highs on Wednesday, with German stocks leading losses as chemicals producer Bayer and carmaker BMW tumbled, and as the European Union resisted British Prime Minister Theresa May's plea to delay Brexit.

UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed down by 0.3 percent, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 ended the day down by 0.75 percent, Germany's Dax ended down by 1.40 percent, France’s CAC finished the day down by 0.6  percent.

The S&P 500 and the Dow ended lower on Wednesday as interest rate-sensitive financial stocks dragged down the indexes after the U.S. Federal Reserve affirmed a dovish monetary policy stance.

Dow Jones closed down by 0.54 percent, S&P 500 ended down by 0.29 percent, Nasdaq finished the day down by 0.7 percent.

Treasuries Recap

U.S. Treasuries rallied on Wednesday, taking the benchmark 10-year yield to a 14-month low, after the Federal Reserve said it would hold interest rates steady and its policymakers abandoned projections for further rate hikes this year while flagging an expected economic slowdown.

The two-year Treasury yield, which is a proxy for investor sentiment about interest-rate hikes, logged its largest daily drop since Jan. 3 and was last at 2.402 percent. The benchmark 10-year yield, which reflects investor sentiment about the overall health of the economy, fell by as much as 8 basis points to the lowest since January 2018 and was last at 2.539 percent.

Commodities Recap

Gold prices gained on Wednesday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and abandoned projections for further rate hikes.

Gold climbed 0.7 percent to $1,315.50 per ounce, having risen to nearly three-week high of $1,315.61. Meanwhile, U.S. gold futures   settled down 0.4 percent at $1,301.7 per ounce.

U.S. crude prices rose on Wednesday to a 4-month high above $60 a barrel after U.S. government data showed tightening domestic oil supplies, but gains were capped by concerns over global economic growth due to the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.

The front-month U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures contract, which expired Wednesday, gained 80 cents, or 1.36 percent, to settle at $59.83 a barrel. It hit a session high of $60.12 a barrel, the highest since Nov. 12.
 

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