Action Insight

Dollar remains the weakest one and is under broad based selling pressure. Mixed economic data from the US provides little support to the greenback. Headline PPI rose 0.4% mom, 2.7% yoy in January, versus expectation of 0.4% mom, 2.5% yoy. Core PPI rose 0.4% mom, 2.2% yoy, versus expectation of 0.2% mom, 2.1% yoy. Empire state manufacturing index dropped to 13.1 in February, below expectation of 18.0. Philly Fed survey rose to 25.8, above expectation of 21.6. Initial jobless claims rose 7k to 230k in the week ended February 10. 1.2537 is a key level to watch in EUR/USD today.

The moves triggered by stronger than expected CPI in the US proved to be short lived. DOW opened lower overnight to 24490.36 but quickly reversed. Eventually it ended up 1.03% at 24893.49. S&P 500 and NASDAQ also closed up 1.34% and 1.86% respectively. Dollar initially gained after the release but also reversed quickly. More importantly, it now looks like the greenback is ready to resume it's broad based down trend. Staying in the currency markets, Yen is trading as the strongest one for the week on revived speculations of stimulus exit. That's followed by Kiwi and then Euro. The only move that was persistent was the rally in treasury yields with 10 year yield closing up 0.073 to 2.913, resuming recent up trend towards 3.036 key resistance.

Dollar jumps notably in early US session after stronger than expected inflation data. Headline CPI jumped 0.5% mom in January, above expectation of 0.3% mom. Annual rate of CPI was unchanged at 2.1% yoy, above expectation of 1.9% yoy. Core CPI rose 0.3% mom, above expectation of 0.2% mom. Annually, core CPI was unchanged at 1.8%, above expectation of 1.7%. The set of inflation does nothing to alter expectation of a Fed hike in March. More importantly, the resilience in annual reading is raising the chance of three or four hikes this year. Retail sales were disappointing but markets paid little attention. Headline sales dropped -0.3% while ex0auto sales was flat in January.

Yen continues to trade higher in calm markets. DOW closed up 0.16% at 24640.45 overnight as consolidation continued. Nikkei also opened higher initial trading but turns flat since then. Hong Kong HSI is up 0.75% in thin trading ahead of lunar new year holidays. While USD/JPY dip extended recent decline, EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY are held by the temporary lows established earlier. The greenback remains one of the weakest and will look into CPI and retail sales from US today for inspirations.

Yen and Swiss Franc jump broadly today as the recovery in global stock markets lose steam again. At the time of writing, both DAX and CAC 40 are trading in red even though FTSE is mildly higher. That followed -0.65% decline in Nikkei earlier in the day. US futures also point to another day of loss. Sterling follows as the third strongest one for the day after higher than expected consumer inflation reading. On the hand, commodity currencies, and Dollar, are trading generally lower.

Australian Dollar is lifted mildly today by business condition and confidence data and is trading broadly higher. Nonetheless, the forex markets are generally stuck in consolidation mode. Risk markets further stabilized overnight with DOW closed up 410 pts, or 1.7%, at 24601, responded positively to US President Donald Trump's infrastructure plan. Japan Nikkei follow is s trading up 0.8% at the time of writing. The economic calendar remains rather light today. UK inflation data, in particular CPI, will be the focus.

Global markets are generally in recovery mode today. European indices are all in black at the time of writing. US futures also point to higher open as markets await Trump's infrastructure plan. Major forex pairs and crosses are staying gin Friday's range, except AUD/NZD. But it should be noted that the retreats in Dollar and Yen are shallow and weak so far. There could be renew interests in these two currencies if risk sentiments turn sour again later in US session.

The Asian markets are rather quiet with Japan on holiday. Dollar and Yen are paring back some of last week's gains. Meanwhile, Euro and Aussie are recovering. It now looks like EUR/USD is holding on to 1.2222 key support for the moment. Elsewhere in the Asian Pacific markets are steadily mixed with Hong Kong HSI trading up 1%, South Korea KOPSI up 1.1%, China SSE down -1.3% at the time of writing. The economic calendar is light today, with Swiss CPI as the main feature. Speeches of UK MPC member Ian McCafferty and Gertjan Vlieghe will catch some attention.

Japanese Yen ended as the strongest major currency last week as selloff in global stock markets intensified. Dollar followed closely as the second strongest. Sterling, however, ended as the weakest one despite hawkish BoE announcement which hinted at earlier and faster rate hikes. Euro followed as the second weakest while Aussie was the third weakest. DOW recorded two of the largest single day point drops over the week. And two days of more than 1000 pts decline was definitely historic. Judging from the technical pictures of DOW, FTSE and DAX, while the corrections are not finished, they would enter into "buy zone" of traditional medium term corrections on next fall. That is, we could see the selling recedes soon. However, we'd like to point out a big risk ahead, China stocks, that could make these global selloffs long term corrections.

Sterling tumbles sharply today after EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned that a transition deal is "not a given". That came as Barnier concludes the week long technical discussion between civil servants of UK and EU. And he pointed out there are three "substantial" disagreements remained over the transition period. Firstly, UK wants the rights of EU citizens coming in during the transition period to be different from those who come in before. Secondly, UK wants to retain the right to object to new EU laws during the period. Thirdly, it's uncertain how UK could have a role in new EU justice and home affairs policies during the transition.

The BOE left the Bank Rate unchanged at 0.5% and the asset purchase program unchanged at 435B pound. The members voted unanimously (9-0) for the decision. What caught the market attention most is the comment that the“monetary policy would need to be tightened somewhat earlier and by a...

Stocks suffered another round of steep selloff overnight. DOW dropped more than -1000 pts for the second time in just four days, scoring the second biggest point drop ever. DOW lost -1035.89 pts, or -4.15% to close at 23860.46. This week's low at 23778.74 was not breached yet. But it looks vulnerable as two other major indices made new lows already. S&P 500 lost -100.66 pts or -3.75% to close at 2581.0, below prior weekly low at 2593.07. NASDAQ dropped -274.82 pts or -3.9% to 6777.16, also below prior weekly low at 6824.82. That is, recent selloff is resuming and the indices will likely head further lower before closing the week. In Asian markets, Nikkei follows by losing -3.2% at the time of writing, HK HSI is down -3.65%.

Sterling jumps after BoE stands pat and indicates that it may raise interest rates earlier than expected. In the accompanying statement, the central bank noted "were the economy to evolve broadly in line with the February Inflation Report projections, monetary policy would need to be tightened somewhat earlier and by a somewhat greater extent over the forecast period than anticipated at the time of the November Report, in order to return inflation sustainably to the target." That is seen as the main trigger for the buying in the Pound. Other than that, there are many surprises. The votes on keeping the Bank rate at 0.50% and asset purchase at GBP 435b were unanimous. 2018 GDP forecast was raised to 1.8%, up from 1.6%. 2019 GDP forecast was raised to 1.8%, up from 1.7%.

As widely anticipated, RBNZ left the OCR unchanged at 1.75%. Owing to the downside surprise in 4Q17 inflation, policymakers revised lower their inflation forecast, mainly driven by tradeable inflation. Meanwhile, the central bank now sees currency appreciation a less concern, as NDZUSD has retreated to a one-month low, and indicates that the positive impacts of fiscal stimulus (including KiwiBuild and the increase in minimum wages) have diminished. The overall monetary stance remains neutral with the first hike unlikely coming before the 2Q19.

The global markets turned into consolidative mode, digesting recent losses. DOW attempted to rebound to 25293.96 but closed down -0.08% at 24893.35. Nikkei is trading up 0.35% at the time of writing but lacks follow through momentum. An important development to watch is that 10 year yield closed sharply higher by 0.076 at 2.845. Monday's high at 2.862 is now back in radar. And a strong break there will release recent up trend in yields, and could prompt another round of selloff in stocks. In the currency markets, Yen remains the strongest major currency for the week and is back pressing this week's low against Europeans. Dollar follow as the second strongest and has picked up from momentum overnight. New Zealand Dollar trades broadly lower after RBNZ stands pat and maintained a neutral stance. The Kiwi is so far the weakest one for the week.

Dollar is generally firmer today, except versus Yen as global markets stabilized. At the time of writing, DAX is trading up 0.8%, CAC 40 up 0.6% and FTSE up 0.8%. US futures point to a slightly lower open but loss will be limited initial trading. Euro is also mildly firmer as sup[ported by positive news from EU. On the other hand, Aussie and Kiwi are trading as the weakest ones. In particular, Kiwi is back under some pressure ahead of tomorrow's RBNZ rate decision.

Global market sentiments stabilized after steep early selloff. DOW initially dived to 23778.74 but rebounded to close up 567.02 pts or 2.33% at 24912.77. S&P 500 recovered 46.2 pts or 1.74% to 2695.14. NASDAQ also regained 148.35 pts or 2.13% to 7115.88. Asian markets followed with Nikkei trading up 660 pts or 3% at the time of writing. In the currency markets, Yen remains the strongest one for the week so far despite paring back some gains. Yen is followed by Kiwi and Dollar. Meanwhile, European majors remain the weakest, with Sterling leading the way down

Global stock markets selloff continues today. At the time of writing, all major European indices are trading in red. FTSE 100 is down -1.9%, DAX down -2.4% and CAC 40 down -2.7%. DOW just had the biggest single day point drop yesterday. US futures suggest the selloff is going to continue, at least in the early part of today's US session. In the currency markets, Dollar is trading broadly higher today, but overwhelmed by New Zealand Dollar. Yen follows closely as the third strongest today, but the strongest for the week. Notable weakness is seen in European majors

In its first meeting in 2018, RBA maintained the cash rate unchanged at 1.5%. The decision had been widely anticipated. As suggested in the accompanying statement, the central bank continued to see positive economic developments both globally and at home. Policymakers have turned slightly more upbeat over the domestic growth outlook, projecting GDP to expand 'a bit above 3% over the next couple of years'. Meanwhile, RBA revealed that the central forecast for CPI is 'a bit above 2% in 2018. This marks a more hawkish tone when compared with December’s language. While the job market has improved a lot, with the unemployment rate falling to the lowest level in 4.5 years, wage growth has remained lackluster. This has raised concerns over household expenditure.

Selloff of global stock markets intensified further as DOW scored the largest single day point drop in history overnight. DOW declined -1175.21 points or -4.6% to 24345.75, comparing to 26616 record high made just six trading days ago. S&P 500 closed down -113.19 pts or -4.1% at 2648.94. NASDAQ lost -273.42 pts or -3.78% to 6967.53. 10 year yield hit new 4 year high at 2.862, before closing down -0.60 at 2.794. In Asian markets, Nikkei follows by dropping more than -5.2% at the time of writing. Hong Kong HSI is down -4.3%. In the currency markets, Yen is trading as the strongest major currency for the week, followed by Dollar and then Swiss Franc. Sterling is the biggest loser, followed by Canadian and then Aussie Dollar.