US technology stocks rallied on Monday after a judge threw out an antitrust case against Facebook by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The judge in Washington said that the case failed to plead enough facts to establish that Facebook had a monopoly power in the social networking market. In its case, the FTC wanted the court to order Facebook to divest its investments in Whatsapp and Instagram. The judge also dismissed a similar case brought by a group of 46 states. The win means that regulators pursuing tech giants will find it tough in court. Facebook shares rose by more than 1% after the verdict pushing its total market capitalization to more than $1 trillion.
The USDJPY and EURJPY declined slightly after strong Japan retail sales numbers. The data showed that sales rose by 8.2% in May after rising by 11.9% in the previous month. This increase was better than the median estimate of 7.9%. It is a sign that the country’s economy is recovering relatively well since household spending is one of the measures of economic strength. Meanwhile, the country’s unemployment rate increased from 2.8% in May, worse than the expected 2.9%. The jobs to applications ratio remained intact at 1.09.
The economic calendar will have some key events today. In Sweden, the country’s statistics agency will publish the consumer and business confidence numbers. They will come a day after the agency published strong retail sales data. In the UK, Nationwide will publish the June house price index (HPI) while the Bank of England will release the latest mortgage data. In the Eurozone, the European Commission will release the latest business climate numbers while the German statistics agency will release its preliminary inflation figures. In the United States, the Conference Board will release the latest consumer confidence data.
EURUSD
The EURUSD pair broke out lower during the American session. It fell to a low of 1.1900, which was the lowest level since Friday. It also managed to move below the rectangle pattern shown in red. It is slightly below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level and the 25-day moving average. Therefore, the pair may keep falling as bears target the next key support at 1.1850.
USDJPY
The USDJPY pair declined to an intraday low of 110.48, which was slightly below this month’s high of 111.40. On the four-hour chart, the pair has moved below the upper side of the ascending channel and is approaching the lower side. It has also crossed the 50-day and 25-day moving average while the MACD has formed a bearish crossover. Therefore, the pair may keep falling as bears target the next key support at 110.15.
GBPUSD
The GBPUSD pair broke out lower during the overnight session. It dropped to a low of 1.3860, which was the lowest level since last week. The pair moved below the neckline of the head and shoulders pattern and the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level. It is also along the lower side of the Bollinger Bands indicator. The pair may keep falling ahead of the mortgage and housing price index data.
