Market Roundup
• US 27 April, Initial Jobless Claims, 230k, 215k forecast, 230k previous
• US 20 April, Continued Jobless Claims, 1.671 mln, 1.659 mln forecast, 1.655 mln previous, 1.654 mln
• US March Factory Orders MM, 1.9%, 1.5% forecast, -0.5% previous
• US Q1 Labor Costs Prelim, -0.9%, 1.5% forecast, 2.0% previous
• US Q1 Productivity Prelim, 3.6%, 2.2% forecast, 1.9% previous
• US April ISM NY Biz Conditions, 77.3, 66.7 forecast, 66.9 previous
• German consumption showing early signs of recovery: Bundesbank
• Bank of England's Carney tells investors they are too relaxed on rates
• More than one BoE rate rise likely over next three years - Carney
• Moore withdraws from consideration for Fed post
Looking Ahead - Economic Data
• ( ET 09:30 / GMT 01:30) Australia March Building Approvals, -14.0% forecast, 19.1% previous
Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases
• ( ET 08:00 / GMT 12:00 ) ECB's top banking supervisor, Andrea Enria, participates in a panel discussion in Florence
• ( ET 10:15 / GMT 14:15) Chicago Fed's Charles Evans speaks on current economic conditions and monetary policy in Stockholm
• ( ET 11:30 / GMT15:30) Fed's Clarida speaks in the Hoover Institution in Stanford, California
• ( ET 13:45 / GMT 17:45 ) New York Fed's John Williams speaks in the Hoover Institution in Stanford, California
• ( ET 15:00 / GMT 19:00 ) Fed Governor Michelle Bowman chairs the luncheon discussion in the Hoover Institution in Stanford, California
• 23:45 St. Louis Fed's James Bullard, San Francisco Fed's Mary Daly, Dallas Fed's Robert Kaplan and Cleveland Fed's Loretta Mester participate in policy panel in the Hoover Institution in Stanford, California
Currency summaries
EUR/USD: The euro slipped lower against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as traders pared their bets of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve following Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's comment about U.S. inflation. The greenback proved resilient since Powell said at a news conference on Wednesday that the factors dragging on inflation might be "transitory" and he saw no case for a rate move in either direction. The euro was down 0.18 percent at $1.1173. An index that tracks the dollar versus a basket of six major currencies was down 0.45 at 97.84. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.1194 (11 DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.1268 (50 DMA).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.1171 (March 19th low), a break below could take the pair towards 1.1126 (Lower Bollinger Bands).
GBP/USD: The British pound declined against the dollar on Thursday, after the Bank of England lifted its growth forecasts but warned Brexit continued to cloud the outlook for monetary policy. The BoE voted unanimously to keep interest rates steady at 0.75 percent but stuck to their view tighter policy would be needed in future. After the BoE decision, the pound initially broke higher before dropping to a day's low of $1.3019, down 0.2 percent on the day. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.3103 (50 DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.3156 (Higher Bollinger Band).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.3009 (21 DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.2963 (9 DMA).
USD/CAD: The Canadian dollar edged lower against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, as Canadian dollar was weighed down by weaker oil prices and stronger greenback. The price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, was pressured by record U.S. crude production that led to a surge in inventories. At (GMT 2027) the Canadian dollar was trading 0.19% lower at 1.3470 to the greenback. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.3500 (Psychological level), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.3525 (Higher Bollinger Bands).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.3440 (9 DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.3389 (21 DMA).
USD/JPY: The U.S. dollar strengthened against the yen on Thursday, after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell caused investors to lower expectations for a rate cut by the U.S. central bank this year. The dollar index strengthened for a second day against a basket of major currencies, going as high as 97.83. At (GMT 2027) The dollar was 0.11 percent higher versus the Japanese yen at 111.50.Strong resistance can be seen at 111.67 (9 DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 114.54 (Oct 3rd high).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 111.36 (50 DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 112.32 (Higher Bollinger Band).
Equities Recap
European shares had their worst session in more than six weeks on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve dampened rate cut bets, while gains by Volkswagen and Bayer helped cap losses.
UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed down by 0.5 percent, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 ended the day down by 0.54 percent, Germany's Dax ended down by 0.06 percent, France’s CAC finished the day down by 0.85 percent.
U.S. stocks eased further from recent record highs on Thursday as energy shares dropped along with oil prices and investors continued to digest comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Dow Jones closed down by 0.46 percent, S&P 500 ended down by 0.21 percent, Nasdaq finished the day down by 2.19 percent.
Treasuries Recap
U.S. Treasury yields rose to one-week highs on Thursday as investors reduced bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year, after bullish economic comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday.
Commodities Recap
Gold prices slumped to an over four-month low on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) axed any hopes for a rate cut in the near term, subduing demand for the non-interest bearing bullion.
Spot gold was down 0.5 percent at $1,270.22 per ounce as of (1742 GMT), after touching its lowest since end-December 2018 at $1,265.85 earlier in the session.U.S. gold futures settled down 1 percent at $1,272 an ounce.
Oil plunged Thursday, with U.S. crude dropping more than 3 percent as the market grappled with oversupply fears as increased U.S. sanctions on Iran had more incremental impact than expected and U.S. crude oil inventories rose sharply.
U.S. crude was down $2.24, or 3.5 percent at $61.35 per barrel by (1534 GMT), heading for its biggest weekly fall since February.Brent crude futures fell $1.92, or 2.7 percent to $70.26.
