Asian stocks finished higher as the coronavirus fears ease on reports of declining infection growth cases. The lower infection rate, and the increasing bets from investors that central banks will step in to inject liquidity when needed, has allowed risk appetite to return to equity markets.
The PBOC last week, announced measures to ease the impact of the coronavirus epidemic adding liquidity in the markets. Nikkei 225 finished 0.74% higher at 23861. The Hang Seng is 0.87% higher at 27823. The Singapore FTSE Straits Times Index finished 1.59% higher at 3223. The Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.87% at 2926. In Australia, the ASX 200 index ended 0.47% higher at 7088.
European indices are mirroring Wall Street and Asian indices. The German DAX is 0.62% higher at 13,711 making fresh all-time highs. CAC40 index is 0.29% higher at 6,072, while the FTSE MIB in Milan is 0.54% higher at 24,822. In London, the FTSE 100 is 0.26% higher at 7,518.
In commodities markets, crude oil rebound continues above the $50. WTI crude is 1.36% higher at $50.61. Brent oil is 1.60% higher at $55.03/barrel. Gold price is 0.02% lower at 1,567 as investors shift their attention to risky assets. The gold technical analysis outlook is still bullish as the gold price trades above all daily moving averages. The first resistance stands at $1,611 the recent high, while the support stands at $1,447 the recent low. Silver price is 0.27% lower at $17.57.
Cryptocurrencies continue to fresh yearly highs amid broader adoption from institutional investors. BTCUSD is 0.59% higher at $10,325 hitting the daily low at $10,132 and the daily high at $10,473. Bitcoin momentum is bullish as it is trading above all major moving averages. Support for BTCUSD stands now at $9,000 while the next support level stands at 8,500.
On the upside, first resistance stands at 10,473 top and then at 10,800 round mark. ETHUSD trades 7.09% higher at 254.83 with capitalization now at 27.80 billion. On the upside, the first resistance for Ethereum stands at $256.31 recent high while the support stands at $213.47 the February low. XRPUSD is 2.84% higher at 0.2900. Litecoin (LTCUSD) is 2.40% higher at 78.63. The crypto market capitalization is now at $300.11 billion.
In the Lookout: The Japan Machine Tool Orders (YoY) drop from previous -33.6% to -35.6% in January.
The Singapore Retail Sales (MoM) came in at -1% below the expectations of 0% in December.
New Zealand central bank RBNZ kept the interest rate unchanged at 1% in line with expectations.
The Australia Consumer Confidence came in at 2.3% topping the expectations of 1.4% in February.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the Yuan reference rate at 6.9718 versus the previous settlement at 6.9897.
Trading Perspective: In the fx market, the US dollar index (DXY) is 0.01% higher at 98.76. The AUDUSD is 0.47% higher at 0.6746. NZDUSD trades 1.30% higher at 0.6484. USDCHF pair is 0.10% lower at 0.9749.
GBPUSD trades 0.20% higher at 1.2977 boosted by stronger than expected UK GDP data and amid hard Brexit fears. The initial support for the British pound against the US dollar now stands at 1.28 low which if broken, might push the pair further down towards 1.20. On the upside, initial resistance stands at 1.30 and then at 1.3511 recent high.
EURUSD trades 0.01% lower at 1.0913 as the pair’s momentum has turned now negative. The EURUSD pair broke below the 100-day moving average and now sellers are in control. The first resistance for the EURUSD pair stands at 1.1224 January high. On the other hand, support is at 1.0901 today’s low and then at 1.0850.
USDJPY is trading 0.16% higher at 109.97, having hit the daily low at 109.75 and the daily high at 110.13. The USDJPY pair will meet initial support at 105.43 the August low. On the upside, immediate resistance for the USDJPY now stands at 110.27 January high.
USDCAD trades 0.12% lower at 1.3268 amid a rebound in crude oil price. The USDCAD pair will meet first support at 1.2950 the recent low while the next support level stands at 1.29 round figure. On the flip side, resistance will be met at the 1.3066 the high from December 31st.
