Market Roundup
• ECB holds rates, APP steady, will commence corporate bond purchases in June.
• US jobless claims 247k, -6k; hit 42.5-yr low as labor market firms, hints Q1 slowdown may be temporary.
• Philadelphia Fed business conditions index -1.6 in April vs March +12.4, employment/new orders fall.|
• U.S. home prices +0.4% percent in Feb, unchanged vs Jan.
• EZ flash consumer confidence improves in Apr (-9.3 vs -9.7 previous).
• Draghi: Low interest rates are a symptom of low growth and low inflation, it will take time for mon policy to yield results, GC hasn’t discussed helicopter money
• Draghi: Corp sector purchase programme details; corporate bonds including insurance companies, 6-mos to 30-yr maturity, parent company/non-bank, BBB- or higher, issue share limit of 70% lower for secs issues by public undertakings.
Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)
• 02:00 Japan Nikkei Mfg PMI Flash Apr 49.1-previous
Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases (GMT)
• No Significant Data
Currency Summaries
EUR/USD is likely to find support at 1.1270 levels and currently trading at 1.1285 levels. The pair has made session high at 1.1398 and hit lows at 1.1270 levels. Euro initially rose against the greenback to hit daily highs at 1.0903, after European Central Bank held key interest rates steady. But later, the euro reversed course against the US dollar, as investors saw potential for the European Central Bank to eventually increase its stimulus measures if necessary. The euro was last down 0.04 percent against the dollar at $1.1290, near a session low of $1.1271, after hitting a nine-day high of $1.1394 on the back of comments from ECB President Mario Draghi. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was last up 0.11 percent at 94.592.
GBP/USD is supported in the range of 1.4300 currently trading at 1.4320 levels. It reached session high at 1.4433 and hit low at 1.4315 levels. Sterling jumped to hit one month high against the dollar on Thursday as a the sterling found bullish momentum as the pair was pulled higher by advancing euro against dollar during ECB chief Mario Draghi's news conference. However the Sterling ceded ground against the dollar as the cable came under pressure on expectations that the European Central Bank is likely to ease its monetary policy in the next meeting. A poor batch of UK retail sales numbers had put some pressure on the pound in early trade, pointing again to a weakening of economic activity as firms and consumers brace for the referendum in June on Britain's European Union membership. Sterling traded unchanged against the dollar at $1.4329 by 1615 GMT and just over 0.1 percent weaker at 78.89 pence per euro.
USD/CAD is supported at 1.2625 levels and is trading at 1.2730 levels. It has made session high at 1.2750 and lows at 1.2641 levels. The Canadian dollar gave up ground against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday as a slight pullback in oil prices weighted down on the pair and dollar regained strength after a dovish ECB press conference. The price of U.S. crude was down 0.93 percent to $43.77 a barrel, still near a five-month high, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said non-OPEC production would fall this year by the most in a generation and help rebalance a market dogged by oversupply. The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.2628, while its weakest was C$1.2681. Canadian retail sales data for February and inflation data for March are scheduled to be released on Friday.
USD/JPY is supported around 119.00 levels and currently trading at 119.45 levels. It has made session high at 119.62 and low at 119.37 levels. The pair edged higher immediately after European Central Bank held key interest rates steady. But, later in early US session the dollar declined, as investors closed there short buy position and sold off the greenback against Japanese yen. The pair was trading in the late New York session around 109.44 levels. Meanwhile, on the data front, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, hitting its lowest level since 1973, suggesting an apparent sharp slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter could be temporary. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 247,000 for the week ended April 16, the lowest reading since November 1973, the Labor Department said. The dollar was last down 0.35 percent against the Japanese currency at 109.44 yen easing from a more than two-week high of 109.89 yen hit earlier in the session.
Equities Recap
European shares fell slightly on Thursday after the European Central Bank kept rates unchanged, with Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson and French drinks firm Pernod leading the fall after disappointing updates.
UK's benchmark FTSE 100 closed down 0.33 percent, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 ended the day down by 0.24 percent, Germany's DAX ended up by 0.33 percent, France’s CAC finished the day down by 0.03 percent.
Wall Street suffered its first loss in four sessions on Thursday after a mixed bag of quarterly reports and a warning by Verizon Communications that a strike by workers would likely impact its bottom line.
Dow Jones closed down by 0.61percent, S&P 500 ended down by 0.51 percent, Nasdaq finished the day down by 0.03 percent.
Treasuries Recap
U.S. Treasury yields rose to more than three-week highs on Thursday as oil prices held near recent highs, reducing demand for safe-haven U.S. bonds, and as high quality European government bond yields spiked.
U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell 5/32 in price to yield 1.87 percent, up from 1.85 percent on Wednesday and 1.78 percent on Tuesday.
Commodities Recap
Oil prices fell 3 percent on Thursday, pausing after a two-day rally, after producers from Russia to Saudi Arabia and Iran to Libya hinted at more output amid growing U.S. crude stockpiles.
Brent crude settled down $1.27, or 2.8 percent, at $44.53 a barrel. It had gained 7 percent in two previous sessions.U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slid $1 to $43.18.
Gold declined sharply from an 1month peak on Thursday as a rebound in the dollar prompted traders to cash in earlier gains, while gold also fell from a five-week high hit after comments from the European Central Bank drove the euro higher.
Spot gold was up 0.4 percent at $1,248.50 an ounce, but was well below an earlier five-week high of $1,270.10. U.S. futures for April delivery settled down 0.3 percent at $1,249.
