Asian stocks rally on data showing a decline for the third consecutive day in coronavirus deaths and new cases in Italy, Spain, UK, and Germany. The Japanese government could announce a state of emergency on Tuesday.
Weak economic data weigh on stocks, and on Friday, the U.S. jobless claims for the previous week came in at 6.64 million well above the expectations of 3.50 million. Adding to last week’s jobless claims figures, we have almost 10 million new Americans claiming unemployment benefits. Fitch said that New Zealand and Australia’s public finances would weaken amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Nikkei 225 finished 4.24% higher at 18576; The Singapore Straits Times closed up 3.22% at 2466. The Hang Seng was 2.21% higher at 23749.
European stocks started the week in a positive mood. The German DAX is 3.69% higher at 9,876. CAC 40 index is 3.21% higher at 4,287, while the FTSE MIB in Milan is 3.21% higher at 16,909. In London, the FTSE 100 is 1.75% higher at 5,510.
In commodities markets, crude oil price retreat today after the two-day rally the previous week. WTI crude oil is 2.85% lower at $27.53, while the Brent oil is 5.53% lower at $33.03 per barrel.
The gold price is 1.13% higher at 1634. The initial gold resistance stands at $1,703 the March high, while the initial support stands at $1,592, the 50-day moving average. Silver (XAGUSD) is 0.95% higher at $14.52.
Cryptocurrencies rally in the early morning, Bitcoin’s (BTCUSD) price is 5.33% higher at $7,124, hitting the daily low at $6,713 and the daily high at $7,151. Bitcoin’s (BTCUSD) technical picture has improved in the short term, but bears are still in control as the number one cryptocurrency trading below all the major daily moving averages. The first support for BTCUSD stands now at $5,714, the low from March 30. On the other hand, immediate resistance stands at $6,860 previous week high while the next strong resistance will be met at 10,495, the yearly high.
Ethereum is 8.07% higher, at 153.83, with capitalization at 16.98 billion. The initial resistance for Ethereum stands at 155.59 the daily high, while the support stands at $102.00 the low from March 16 trading session. Ripple – XRPUSD is 5.45% higher at 0.1892. Litecoin (LTCUSD) is 5.15% higher at 42.45. The crypto market capitalization stands now at $199.25 billion.
In the Lookout: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Chief Economist explained that not preparing banks for negative OCR at the moment. The Australia Inflation rose from previous -0.1% to 0.2% in March. The New Zealand ANZ Commodity Price came in at -2.1%, topping the expectations of -2.5% in March.
Trading Perspective: In the foreign exchange markets, EURUSD is 0.11% lower at 1.0793, the Australian dollar is 1.37% higher at 0.6072 against the U.S. greenback. The Yen is weaker against the U.S. Dollar; the USDJPY is 0.57% higher at 108.99. NZDUSD trades 1.29% higher at 0.5933.
USDJPY trades higher after weaker than expected consumer confidence in Japan. The Confidence Index dropped to 30.9 in March from the previous 38.4, as the economic outlook in Japan deteriorates amid the coronavirus outbreak. The Japanese government will announce a state of emergency and also prepares a relief package.
The technical picture for USDJPY is positive, while today, the pair hovers around the 100-day moving average. On the upside, the first resistance stands at 109.37. The next resistance will be met at 111.24, the high from March 23.
On the flip side, the first support for the pair stands at 108.34, the daily high. More bids would emerge at 107.79, the low from Friday’s trading session. The next support area stands at 107.008.
