Entering European session, Yen is trading as the weakest one today, following strong risk appetite in Asia. Tech stocks led the way higher while investors shrug off conflicting comments from the US regarding trade negotiation with China. On the one hand, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the two countries are “miles and miles” away on a trade deal. But White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump is optimistic. Dollar follows as the second weakest and then Australian.
Sterling is boosted by news that Northern Ireland’s DUP has privately agreed to conditional support to Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal. But we’d doubt if the rumored condition of time limit on Irish backstop would get agreement from Brexit hardliners and the EU. Canadian Dollar, second strongest for today, follows oil price higher, as US threatens to sanction Venezuela. Euro is mixed after some knee-jerk actions follow ECB meeting yesterday.
For the week, Sterling is also the strongest one, followed by, New Zealand Dollar and then Swiss Franc. Australian Dollar is the weakest followed by Canadian and then Euro.
In other markets:
- Nikkei closed up 0.97%.
- Hong Kong HSI is up 1.48%.
- China Shanghai SSE is up 0.79%.
- Singapore Strait Times is up 0.57%.
- Japan 10-year JGB yield is down -0.0082 at 0.002.
Overnight:
- DOW dropped -0.09%.
- S&P 500 rose 0.14%.
- Tech stocks shone as NASDAQ rose 0.68%.
- 10-year yield dropped -0.043 to 2.712. 2.7 is now a level to defend.
