Wall Street softens with Fed in no rush
In his first day of testimony, Fed Chairman Powell highlighted “crosscurrents and conflicting signals” facing the US economy, hence the move to a more patient outlook. UK PM May promises a vote to delay Brexit if her deal fails. Trump and Kim to meet in Hanoi, Vietnam.
US30USD Daily Chart
The US30 index snapped a two-day winning streak yesterday as investors struggled to find positives in Powell’s testimony. Very weak housing starts data added to the gloom
Resistance at the November high of 26,249 remains intact. Support may be found at the 200-day moving average at 25,090
US housing starts fell 11.2% m/m, weakest print since May last year. Today it’s the turn of pending home sales to see if a similar picture is unfolding in that part of the housing sector. Powell’s second day of testimony is also on tap. Trump is in the region, so his tweets may come at a more favourable time, for Asia.
DE30EUR Daily Chart
The Germany30 index edged higher for a third straight day yesterday, reaching the highest since December 3, after German consumer confidence held steady in March
The 200-day moving average at 11,877 appears to be a tough hurdle to cross, especially since slow stochastics are in overbought territory and showing signs of turning bearish
Euro-zone confidence indicators for February feature on the data slate today. Let’s see if they can match the stable readings out of Germany yesterday.
UK100GBP Daily Chart
UK shares fell yesterday, but the pound rose, after PM May promised a vote to delay Brexit if her proposed deal fails to get Parliament’s approval
The UK100 index fell for a second consecutive day, dropping to a two-week low. The 100-day moving average is at 6,981
UK shop prices rose by the most since January 2017 this month, jumping 0.7% y/y, according to British Retail Consortium data which was released earlier this morning.