Forex news from the European trading session - 14 April 2020
Headlines:
- JP Morgan Q1 EPS $0.78 vs $2.65 y/y
- Some European exchanges still down on Deutsche Boerse 'glitch'
- Austria's Kurz: Will tighten lockdown again if virus numbers get worse
- Spain reports 3,045 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours
- South Africa central bank cuts rates to 4.25% from 5.25%
- Germany RKI chief: Easter holidays affected counting of new virus cases
- SNB total sight deposits w.e. 10 April CHF 634.1 bn vs CHF 627.2 bn prior
- China says that it has approved three coronavirus vaccines for clinical trials
- BOJ reportedly considering steps to ease funding strains later this month
- Italian autos, fashion companies may reopen next week - report
- North Korea reportedly fires numerous unidentified projectiles
- India extends nationwide lockdown until 3 May
- Germany daily new coronavirus cases continue to fall
- Toyota says that to resume some France, Poland plant operations from end-April
Markets:
- CHF leads, USD lags
- European equities mixed (some technical difficulties); E-minis up 1.1%
- US 10-year yields down 2.5 bps to 0.745%
- Gold up 0.2% to $1,719
- WTI down 2.1% to $21.93
- Bitcoin up 0.3% to $6,850
Virus developments dominated proceedings but the crucial headline came towards the end as JP Morgan highlighted key risks as we kick start earnings season in the US.
Earnings missed estimates badly as the details showed that the firm is bracing itself for an enormous amount of consumer credit loss amid the impending recession.
That is prompting some doubt in the market as bonds are a bit more bid but US futures are keeping gains for the most part. European equities are a poor gauge of things today due to technical difficulties, resulting in several exchanges being down electronically.
Amid the key virus developments during the session is that India is extending its lockdown while case counts in Germany and Spain slowed down, although that can be largely attributed to the lack of testing during the Easter break as RKI suggests.
In the currencies space, the dollar is keeping weaker after some mixed flows during the session. EUR/USD fell from 1.0950 to 1.0910 before rising back to 1.0960.
USD/JPY stays pressured as the pair gradually moved lower from 107.60 to 107.30.
Meanwhile, AUD/USD is back to levels seen in Asia Pacific trading after falling from 0.6410 to 0.6380 and is now holding just above the 0.6400 handle again.
Dollar weakness remains one of the themes to watch out for but risk sentiment will also be one to pay attention to as we get earnings season underway.
