Market Roundup
- English voters punish both Britain's main parties for Brexit chaos - early results.
- Strong U.S. job growth expected in April; wages seen moderate.
- Democrat ramp up pressure on Trump as Pelosi accuses Barr of 'crime'.
- Asian nations to consider adding yuan, yen to regional swap deal – Nikkei.
- Australia April AIG Services Index, 46.5, 44.8 previous.
- Australia March Building Approvals, -15.5%, -14.0% forecast, 19.1% previous.
- Venezuela opposition figure, facing arrest warrant, says he met with generals.
- U.S. muni bond funds post $1.2 bln in inflows – Lipper.
- Foreign CB US debt holdings +$8.906 bln to $3.461 tln May 1 week.
- Treasuries +$10.517 bln to $3.056 tln, agencies -$1.929 bln to $331.954 bln.
Economic Data Ahead
- (0430 ET/0830 GMT) UK April Markit/CIPS Services PMI, 50.5 forecast, 48.9 previous.
- (0500 ET/0900 GMT) EZ April HICP Flash YY, 1.6% forecast, 1.4% previous.
- (0500 ET/0900 GMT) EZ April HICP-X F&E Flash YY, 1.1% forecast, 1.0% previous.
Key Events Ahead
- (0800 ET/1200 GMT) ECB's top banking supervisor, Andrea Enria, takes part in a panel discussion on ""Restoring people's trust in the Single Market for banking and finance" in Florence.
- (1015 ET/1415 GMT) Chicago Fed's President Charles Evans speaks on current economic conditions and monetary policy in Stockholm.
- (1130 ET/1530 GMT) Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida speaks on "Models, Markets and Monetary Policy" before the "Strategies for Monetary Policy: a Policy Conference" hosted by the Hoover Institution in Stanford.
- (1345 ET/1745 GMT) New York Fed's John Williams speaks on "Tying Down the Anchor: Monetary Policy Rules and the Lower Bound on Interest Rates" in Stanford.
- (1500 ET/1900 GMT) Fed Board Governor Michelle Bowman chairs the "Milton Friedman and the Long History of Monetary Policy Rules" luncheon discussion in Stanford.
- (1800 ET/2200 GMT) Austria's central bank ONB and the European Money and Finance Forum SUERF to host a two-day conference on the European economic and monetary union in Vienna.
FX Recap
USD: The dollar index recoups losses from earlier in the week to stand at 97.834 against a basket of currencies, up from a trough of 97.149.
EUR/USD: The euro was flat at $1.1174, having eased back from a $1.1219 top overnight, though it was still a shade firmer on the week. It made intraday high at $1.1167 and low at $1.1167 mark. A consistent close below $1.1170 will drag the parity down towards key supports around $1.1080 and $1.0852 levels respectively. Alternatively, reversal from key support will drag the parity higher towards key resistances around $1.1220, $1.1390, $1.1472, $1.1550, $1.1620 and $1.1820 marks respectively.
USD/JPY: The Japanese yen trades almost flat around 111.48 mark as Japanese banks will remain closed for a week. It made intraday high at 111.53 and low at 111.40 levels. A sustained close above 112.17 is required to take the parity higher towards key resistances around 112.60 and 113.98 marks respectively. Alternatively, a daily close below 111.37 will drag the parity down towards key support around 110.80, 109.70, 107.50 and 104.20 marks respectively.
GBP/USD: The sterling has traded in a narrow range of $1.28-$1.30 since Britain last month pushed its scheduled departure from the European Union back from March until Oct 31. Sterling slipped from a two-week high 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. Pair made intraday high at $1.3043and low at $1.3022 mark. A sustained close below $1.3022 requires for dragging the parity down towards key support around $1.2897, $1.2772 and $1.25 mark respectively. On the other side, key resistances are seen at $1.3102, $1.3187, $1.3215, $1.3362 and $1.3490 levels respectively.
AUD/USD: The Australian was on track for a third straight weekly loss as speculators bet central banks of both countries could cut rates as early as next week. The Australian dollar was down 0.5 percent for the week on top of its hefty 1.7 percent loss the previous one. It was last trading at $0.6997 after falling below the key psychological support of $0.7000. The pair made intraday high at $0.7028 and low at $0.7010 levels. A consistent close below $0.7015 requires for downside rally.
NZD/USD: The New Zealand dollar was also off 0.5 percent this week, identical with the hit it took the prior week. The currency was last at $0.6620, inching closer to a recent five-month trough of $0.6581. A sustained close above $0.6673 requires for the upside rally. Alternatively, key support was seen at $0.6580 mark.
Equities Recap
Australia’s S&P/ASX200 was trading 0.18 pct higher at 6,349.55 points.
Hong Kong's hang seng index was trading 0.11 percent lower at 29,912.22 points.
South Korea’s Kospi was trading 0.71 percent lower at 2,196.58 points.
Taiwan stock was trading 0.64 percent higher at 11,074.61 points.
India’s NSE was trading 0.11 pct higher at 11,747.45 points and BSE Sensex was trading 0.30 pct higher at 39,093.63 points.
Commodities Recap
Oil prices slipped on Friday, extending a steep fall from the previous session on surging U.S. output and an expected supply increase from producer club OPEC and putting crude on track for a second week of declines. Brent crude oil futures were at $70.56 per barrel at 0127 GMT, down 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 7 cents, at $61.74 per barrel.
Gold steadied near a four-month low on Friday, as comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reduced expectations of a near-term rate cut, putting bullion on track for a weekly fall. Spot gold was unchanged at $1,270.71 per ounce as of 0139 GMT, having fallen to $1,265.85, its lowest since end-December, in the previous session. Spot gold has fallen 1.2 percent so far this week. U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,271.70 an ounce.
Treasuries Recap
New Zealand government bonds were barely changed.
Australian government bond futures were little changed too, with the three-year bond contract off half a tick at 98.725. The 10-year contract was flat at 98.20.
