Market Roundup
- US jobless claims rise in latest week, 278k vs 271k previous, 4-wk avg moves lower.
- US Q4 non-farm productivity revised to -2.2 pct, labor costs revised to +3.3 from +4.5%.
- US Markit Final Svcs PMI 49.7 v 49.8 pvs, Final Comp PMI 50 v 50.1-previous.
- US ISM services index expands in February but employment down.
- US factory orders data points to easing in manufacturing slump (orders rise 1.6% v -2.9% previous).
- Fed's Kaplan: Inflation as tracked by Dallas Fed ticked up in Jan, watching closely; sees excess oil inventories.beginning to fall in mid-2017.
- German FinMin Schaeuble urges Britain to "stay in Europe", Europe more volatile w/o UK.
- Early reports of Plea bargain deal implicating Rousseff/Lula lift BRL.
- Brazil govt aligned Senator says does not confirm reports of plea bargain in PBR case.
Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)
- 00:30 Australia Retail Sales MM* Jan forecast 0.4%, 0%-previous
Looking Ahead - Events, Other Releases (GMT)
- No Significant Events
Currency Summaries
EUR/USD is likely to find support at 1.0900 levels and currently trading at 1.0962 levels. The pair has made session high at 1.0972 and hit lows at 1.0904 levels. Dollar declined against the euro on Thursday as the weak U.S. service sector employment figures added to worries over Friday's monthly U.S. jobs data. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its employment index fell to 49.7 in February from 52.1 a month earlier, marking the first fall in service-sector employment since February 2014. The euro gained more than 0.5 percent against the greenback to a session high of $1.0962, rebounding from $1.0823 Wednesday low and putting the dollar on track for its biggest daily percentage loss against the euro since Feb. 9.Meanwhile, US labor market data released in the early US session further dampened expectations that the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates any time soon.
GBP/USD is supported in the range of 1.4080 and currently trading at 1.4177 levels. It reached session high at 1.4197 and hit low at 1.4137 levels. Sterling rose against the dollar on Thursday, recovering all of the ground lost in the aftermath of the launch of the Brexit campaign last week as the U.S. currency slid ahead of jobs numbers on Friday. A poor reading of the health of the Britain's services sector had halted a recovery by the pound from last week's Brexit-driven sell-off earlier in the day. But as worries about the underlying strength of the U.S. labour market knocked around half a percent off the dollar against a basket of currencies, the pound rose 0.4 percent on the day to $1. was down a quarter of a percent to 77.38 pence per euro and a touch higher on the day when measured by the Bank of England's index of its strength against a basket of currencies.
USD/CAD is supported at 1.3350 levels and is trading at 1.3402 levels. It has made session high at 1.3465 and lows at 1.3367 levels. The Canadian dollar firmed against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday after data showed weekly jobless claims rose unexpectedly and crude oil prices recovered from earlier loss giving a boost to commodity related currencies. Investors were also waiting for a comprehensive labor report for February on Friday that is expected to show an addition of 190,000 jobs, up from a gain of 151,000 in January. Canadian dollar touched its strongest since Dec. 7 at C$1.3387 after better-than-expected fourth quarter growth reduced pressure on the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates. The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.3405, while its weakest was C$1.3473.
AUD/USD is supported around 0.7300 levels and currently trading at 0.7348 levels. It hit session high at 0.7374 and made session lows at 0.7344 levels. The Australian dollar hit two-month highs against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as a rally in commodities and supportive local data prompted markets to pare back the chance of a future interest rate cut. The Australian dollar had been buoyed by data on Wednesday showing the economy grew at the fastest pace in almost two years, a hopeful sign the worst of the global commodity rout may be over. The Australian dollar hit high at $0.7374, a whisker away from its Dec 2016 peak of $0.7384, having rallied 1.7 percent on Wednesday after an upbeat GDP report
Equities Recap
European shares fell back on Thursday, with chemicals maker Evonik and major healthcare stocks among the worst performers, halting a run of five straight days of gains.
Britain's blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.4 percent, France's benchmark CAC-40 index closed down by 0.4 percent, Germany's DAX ended down 0.4 percent, meanwhile the pan-European Eurofirst 300 index was down by 0.56 percent.
U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday, building on a recent recovery as a rally in energy stocks offset dips in health and technology shares.
Dow Jones closed up by 0.26 percent, S&P 500 ended up by 0.35 percent, Nasdaq finished the day up by 0.09 percent.
Treasuries Recap
U.S. Treasury debt prices traded higher on Thursday as oil and stocks stabilized and as investors focused on February's employment report due on Friday for further signs of economic momentum.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were last up 6/32 in price to yield 1.826 percent, down from 1.848 percent on Wednesday.
The 30-year bond was last up 24/32 in price to yield 2.654 percent, down from 2.692 percent on Wednesday.
Commodities Recap
Oil's rally lost steam on Thursday after three straight days of gains as growing record U.S. stockpiles countered OPEC plans for a production freeze, with some analysts saying the market has risen too much, too fast from 12-year lows.
Brent futures, the global benchmark for crude, settled up 14 cents at $37.07 a barrel, after rallying earlier to $37.37. U.S. crude futures settled down 9 cents at $34.57.
Gold rose back towards $1,260 an ounce on Thursday, coming within a hair of a 13-month high as the dollar was on track to make its biggest one-day tumble in a month after U.S. data fueled worries over Friday's U.S. payrolls data.
Spot gold was up 1.4 percent at $1,257.81 an ounce by 2:14 p.m. EST (1914 GMT), after rising to a session high at $1,259.41, roughly $1 from last month's one-year high.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled up 1.3 percent at $1,258.20.
