Asian and Chinese indices ended with positive sentiment on Wednesday on hopes of additional stimulus from the PBOC amid the coronavirus outbreak. The death toll of the coronavirus has now reached 500. The central bank of China (PBOC) announced measures to ease the impact of the epidemic adding liquidity in the markets. The PBOC cut the reverse repo rates by 10 basis points and injected $173.8 billion of liquidity.
The Nikkei 225 finished 1.02% higher at 23,319. The Hang Seng index closed up 0.17% at 26724. The Singapore FTSE Straits Times Index ended 0.99% higher at 3187. The Shanghai Composite closed up 1.07% at 2812. In Australia, the ASX 200 index ended with a gain of 0.39% at 6976.
European indices started higher the session. The German DAX index is 1.09% higher at 13,188. CAC40 is 1.26 higher at 5,905, while the FTSE MIB in Milan is 1.49% higher at 23,810. In London, the FTSE 100 is 1.22% higher at 7,415.
In commodities markets, the crude oil is 0.83% higher at $50.02 amid a slowdown in global oil demand. Brent oil is 0.96% higher at $54.48 per barrel. Gold price is 0.43% higher at 1,559. The gold technical analysis outlook is positive as the gold price trades above all daily moving averages. The first obstacle stands at $1,611 the recent high, while the support stands at $1,447 the recent low. Silver price is also higher, XAGUSD adds 0.56% at $17.66.
Digital currencies trading mixed today, BTCUSD is 0.99% higher at $9,2499 hitting the daily low at $9,030 and the daily high at $9,264. BTCUSD’s momentum is still bullish as Bitcoin is trading above the 50 and 100-day MA. Support for Bitcoin stands now at $8,000 while the next support level stands at 7,500. On the upside, initial resistance will be met at 9,925 top and then at the 10,000 round figure. Ethereum trades 1.31% higher at 190.61 with capitalization now at 20.97 billion.
On the upside, resistance for Ethereutm stands a $200 recent high while the support stands at $117.09 December low. XRPUSD is 4.12% higher at 0.2767. Litecoin (LTCUSD) is trading 1.90% higher at 69.13. The crypto market capitalization is $260.76 billion.
In the Lookout: The China services PMI from Caixin came in at 51.8 the previous reading was at 52.5 in December. The Japan Jibun Bank Services PMI came in at 51 below the expectations of 52.1 in January.
The New Zealand ANZ Commodity Price came in at -0.9%, below the forecasts od 1.6% in January.
The Russia Purchasing Manager Index Services came in at 54.1 for January, the previous reading was at 53.1.
The People’s Bank of China has set the Yuan reference rate at 6.9823 versus the previous settlement at 6.9779.
Trading Perspective: In the forex market, the US dollar index (DXY) is 0.12 per cent higher at 98.06, while the EURUSD gives up 0.20% at 1.1022. The AUDUSD pair is 0.42% higher at 0.6766 after the RBA kept interest rates unchanged. NZDUSD trades 0.11% higher at 0.6491. USDCHF pair is 0.35% higher at 0.9726.
GBPUSD trades 0.21% higher at 1.3056 after the stronger services PMI and on renewed hard Brexit fears after PM Boris Johnson set out tough terms for European Union talks. Last week the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged. The first support for the British pound against the US dollar now stands at 1.2578 low which if broken, might push the GBPUSD pair further down towards 1.20. On the upside, first resistance stands at 1.3511 recent high.
EURUSD trades 0.22% lower at 1.1022 as the pair’s momentum has turned now negative. The EURUSD broke below the 100-day moving average and now bears are in control. First resistance for the EURUSD stands at 1.1224 recent high. On the other hand, support is at 1.1018 today’s low and then at 1.10.
USDJPY is trading 0.13% higher at 109.66, having hit the daily low at 109.29 and the daily high at 109.71. USDJPY will meet support at 105.43 the August low. On the upside, initial resistance for the USDJPY now stands at 110.28 January high.
USDCAD trades 0.02% lower at 1.3274, after the Bank of Canada last week kept interest rates unchanged. 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.
