The U.S. dollar traded mixed – strengthening against the AUD, NZD,
and JPY while declining against EUR, GBP, and CAD amid continued
flooding in Australia and ahead of tomorrow's Portuguese debt auction.
The floods in Queensland intensified hitting Brisbane and put pressure
on the Aussie. AUD/USD is now testing a key support line that dates
back to the June 2010 lows. The euro was given a boost as Japan
pledged to purchase bonds from the EFSF. While this may have stalled
the euro's decline temporarily, the key test for the Euro zone will
come with this week's bond auctions. Tomorrow's Portugal bond auction
will be important as it will give clues as to whether the nation is
able to borrow in the market or if it will ultimately need to rely on
a financial assistance from the rescue fund. As of now Portuguese
officials have stated that they will not ask for a bail out, but this
is reminiscent of Greek and Irish rhetoric prior to accepting aid.
U.S. equities markets gained as risk appetite picked up and fourth
quarter earnings surprised to the upside. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average experienced a brief dip into negative territory but traded
positively for most of the session and closed higher by about +0.30%.
The S&P 500 showed similar price action and finished the day up by
roughly +0.37%. Commodities gained on a softer greenback with gold and
silver advancing by about +0.44% and +1.42% respectively. Oil saw
larger upside gains of around +2.16%. U.S. 10-yr Treasury yields
gained amid improved risk sentiment as the yields edged higher by
about 6bps to nearly 3.34%.
On the data front for the upcoming Asia/Pacific session is Japan's
December money stock data, November current account figures and
December Eco Watchers surveys. Set for release in Australia is
November home loans numbers and investment lending.
Source: ActionForex.Com
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