Daily Market Outlook from ACFX

[Atlas CapitalFx]

Daily Market Outlook

 

Posted by on February 5, 2013

 

Important Financial Indicators of the day Forecast Previous

 

GBP 11:30 (GMT) Services PMI 49.8 48.9

USD 17:00 (GMT) ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI 55.2 56.1

 

Currencies

 

■EUR/USD The euro fell against the yen,

following yesterday’s drop which was the biggest since June,

amid corruption allegations against Spanish Premier Mariano

Rajoy and uncertainty ahead of Italian elections this month.

 

The euro fell 0.2 percent to 124.59 yen as of 1:58 p.m. in

Tokyo from yesterday, when it dropped 1.4 percent, the most

since June 25. It declined 0.2 percent to $1.3488. The yen was

little changed at 92.37 per dollar after yesterday falling as

low as 93.18, the weakest since May 13, 2010.

 

■AUD/USD Australia’s dollar fell against all of its major peers, erasing earlier gains, after the central bank signaled it’s prepared to cut interest rates to a record- low this year after holding them unchanged today.

 

The Aussie fell 0.3 percent to $1.0404 at 4:50 p.m. in Sydney from yesterday, after earlier climbing as much as 0.2 percent. It declined 0.3 percent to 96.12 yen, after touching 97.08 in New York, the highest since August 2008. New Zealand’s kiwi dollar slid 0.1 percent to 84.20 U.S. cents from yesterday. It was down 0.1 percent at 77.80 yen.

 

■GBP/USD The pound appreciated from the weakest level in 15 months against the euro as political turmoil pressured Spanish and Italian government bonds and boosted the relative appeal of Britain’s currency.

 

The pound strengthened 1.1 percent to 85.98 pence per euro

at 4:49 p.m. London time after depreciating to 87.17 pence on

Feb. 1, the weakest since Oct. 31, 2011. Sterling advanced 0.3

percent to $1.5746 after declining 0.7 percent last week

 

Commodities

 

■Oil traded near the lowest level in more than a week in New York, after sliding the most in two months, before a report that may show rising stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s biggest crude consumer.

 

Crude for March delivery was at $96.11 a barrel, down 6 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:44 p.m. Singapore time. The volume of all futures traded was 57 percent above the 100-day average. The contract slid $1.60 yesterday to $96.17, the lowest close since Jan. 25 and the biggest decrease since Dec. 6. that may show rising stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s biggest crude consumer.

 

Brent for March settlement declined 40 cents to $115.20 a

barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The

volume of all futures traded was 68 percent above the 100-day

average. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $19.10

to West Texas Intermediate futures, from $19.43 yesterday.

 

Equities

 

■Asian stocks fell, dragging the

regional benchmark equities index down from an 18-month high,

amid renewed concern about Europe’s debt crisis.

 

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) slid 0.7 percent to 132.72 as of 11:38 a.m. in Hong Kong, with almost four stocks falling for each that rose

 

■European stocks U.K. stocks tumbled the most in almost three months as Vodafone Group Plc retreated and Spanish and Italian bonds declined amid political uncertainty in both Mediterranean countries.

 

The FTSE 100 lost 100.4 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,246.84 at the close in London, its biggest drop since Nov. 7. The equity benchmark has still gained 5.9 percent in 2013, its best start to a year since 1998, as U.S. lawmakers agreed on a compromise budget. The broader FTSE All-Share Index retreated 1.5 percent today, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index lost 1 percent.

 

■U.S stocks fell, driving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its biggest decline since November, on concern that the European debt crisis may intensify.

 

The S&P 500 slipped 1.2 percent, the most since Nov. 14, to 1,495.71 in New York, after reaching a five-year high last week. The Dow (INDU) Jones Industrial Average lost 129.71 points, or 0.9 percent, to 13,880.08. More than 6.3 billion shares traded handed on U.S. exchanges today, in line with the three-month average.