Market Roundup
•Jobless claims remain low, new home sales rise
•US Current Account (Q4) -213.2B forecast,-217.1B previous
•US Feb Chicago Fed National Activity -0.19, 0.23 previous
•US Jobless Claims 4-Week Avg. 196.25K,196.50K previous
•US Continuing Jobless Claims 1,694K, 1,684K forecast,1,684K previous
•US Initial Jobless Claims 191K,197K forecast,192K previous
•US Feb New Home Sales 640K,650K forecast, 670K previous
•US Feb New Home Sales (MoM) 1.1%,7.2% previous
•US Natural Gas Storage-75B forecast, -58B previous
•US Building Permits1.550M, 1.524M forecast, 1.339M previous
•US Mar KC Fed Composite Index 0, 0 previous
•US Mar KC Fed Manufacturing Index 3 ,-9 previous
•EU Mar Consumer Confidence -19.2 ,-18.3 forecast,-19.0 previous
Looking Ahead Economic Data(GMT)
•23:30 Japan Foreign Bonds Buying 909.5B previous
•23:30 Japan Foreign Investments in Japanese Stocks -834.2B previous
•00:30 Japan Services PMI 54.0 previous
•00:30 Japan Mar Manufacturing PMI 48.2 forecast,47.7 previous
Looking ahead Events and Other Releases(GMT)
•No significant events
Currency Summaries
EUR/USD: The euro initially gained against dollar on Thursday but gave up ground after the U.S. Federal Reserve sounded close to calling time on interest rate hikes, while the Swiss National Bank and Bank of England pushed ahead with further rate increases. The Fed raised its benchmark funds rate 25 basis points on Wednesday, but dropped language about ongoing increases being needed in favor of some additional rises. Markets are betting on just one more quarter-point hike from the Fed, in contrast to Europe where markets see around 50 bps of further tightening. The gap sent the euro surging to a seven-week high of $1.0930, before moving downward. It was last at $1.08480.Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.0856 (Higher BB), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.0921 (23.6%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.0722(5DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.0709(38.2%fib).
GBP/USD: Sterling hovered near a seven-week high on Thursday after the Bank of England (BoE) raised interest rates and said it expects the surge in British inflation to cool faster than before.Despite a surprise jump in price growth announced on Wednesday, the BoE raised interest rates by a further quarter of a percentage point on Thursday to 4.25% and kept unchanged its message that its Monetary Policy Committee saw less urgency about maintaining its fast run of rate hikes. Sounding more upbeat about the outlook for the country's slow pace of economic growth, the BoE's nine rate-setters voted 7-2 in favour of a 25 basis-point increase in Bank Rate. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.2345 (23.6%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.2381(Higher BB).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.2260(5DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.2175(38.2%fib).
USD/CAD: The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, with the currency giving back its earlier gains as oil prices fell and a rally on Wall Street lost momentum. The index had initially rallied on hopes that the Federal Reserve is nearing a pause in it interest rate hiking cycle. But recent banking sector turmoil has clouded the economic outlook, weighing on sentiment. U.S. crude oil futures settled 1.3% lower at $69.96 a barrel, while the S&P 500 index was also down. The loonie was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3730 to the greenback, or 72.83 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest level since March 7 at 1.3631 .Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.3741 (23.6%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.3770 (March 15th high).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.3709(5DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.3666(38.2%fib).
USD/JPY: The dollar dipped against yen on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled a potential end to its monetary tightening cycle could be on the horizon. The Fed on Wednesday raised interest rates by a widely expected 25 basis points (bps) and indicated it might pause further increases after the recent collapse of two U.S. banks. Fed policymakers believe beating back inflation may require just one more interest-rate hike this year. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his news conference warned that the Fed would doenough to bring inflation down to 2%, and raise rates higher if it needed to. Strong resistance can be seen at 131.65(5DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 132.96 (38.2%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 130.54(38.2%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 130.00(Psychological level).
Equities Recap
European equities inched down on Thursday with banks leading declines after the Bank of England followed the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Swiss National Bank in hiking rates amid worries of a banking contagion.
UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed down by 0.89 percent, Germany's Dax ended down by 0.04 percent, France’s CAC finished the day up by 0. 11 percent.
Wall Street advanced on Thursday as market participants looked past remarks by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday and weighed the possibility that the central bank will pause its restrictive interest rate hikes in the near future.
Dow Jones closed up by 0.23 percent, S&P 500 ended up by 0.30 percent, Nasdaq finished the day up by 1.01 percent.
Commodities Recap
Gold prices extended gains to a second straight session on Thursday, boosted by a slide in Treasury yields after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled an end to its monetary tightening cycle might be on the cards.
Spot gold rose 1.2% to $1,993.09 per ounce by 2:59 p.m. ET (1859 GMT), while U.S. gold futures jumped 2.4% to settle at $1,995.90.
Oil prices settled 1% lower on Thursday, reversing early gains after U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told lawmakers that refilling the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) may take several years.
Brent crude futures fell by 78 cents, or 1%, to settle at $75.91 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slid by 94 cents, or 1.3%, to end the session at $69.96 a barrel.
