ForexLive European FX news wrap: Stocks find some calm, pound stays on edge
Forex news from the European trading session - 9 September 2020
Headlines:
- US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 4 September +2.9% vs -2.0% prior
- ECB's Muller: Timely exit from temporary emergency measures is important
- Irish PM Martin: We got no heads up from the UK on this latest move
- UK health secretary says that virus testing and tracing is not failing
- Switzerland August unemployment rate 3.3% vs 3.3% expected
- ECB heaps further pressure on big banks over Brexit plans - report
Markets:
- NZD leads, GBP lags on the day
- European equities higher; E-minis up 0.7%
- US 10-year yields down 0.6 bps to 0.673%
- Gold down 0.5% to $1,922.60
- WTI up 1.1% to $37.17
- Bitcoin up 1.7% to $10,189
There weren't any standout headlines on the session, as the market is waiting on the UK publishing their internal market bill which is due some time at 1130 GMT and also as stocks are seeing some calmer tones following the rout yesterday.
Equities got a bit of a scare early on in the day but recovered to keep higher, retracing some of the losses from the past few days.
Commodity currencies held their ground for the most part, with the dollar trading more mixed throughout. AUD/USD moved up from 0.7200-10 to 0.7240 while NZD/USD moved higher from 0.6620 to 0.6640 during the session.
Meanwhile, EUR/USD kept a little softer but in a narrow range around 1.1755-70.
The pound is once again the weakest performer as cable eased from 1.2960 to a low of 1.2919, as Brexit woes and the UK tightening virus restrictions again are weighing.
The main focus of the market is sticking on risk sentiment and so far, we are seeing a bit of a breather after a volatile and testing last few days for stocks.
It remains to be seen if the worst is over, so pay attention to the technical levels on the chart for more of a hint on how things are going to play out for the rest of the week.
