Headlines:
Markets:
- EUR leads, AUD lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%
- US 10-year yields up 3 bps to 3.425%
- Gold down 0.1% to $1,995.18
- WTI crude down 0.5% to $76.70
- Bitcoin up 3.5% to $28,959
There weren’t many headlines during the session but there were some decent market moves all around.
It started off with a bit of a mixed picture in equities, with European stocks looking heavy while US futures were buoyed by tech shares. Microsoft reported stronger profits than estimated while Alphabet announced a $70 billion stock buyback and that propped up Nasdaq futures before a bit of a pullback in gains.
Bond yields were also higher but gradually slumped during the session before a late jump after some potential good news for First Republic Bank. 2-year Treasury yields slowly trickled down from 3.95% to 3.89% before jumping up to 3.96% on the headline.
USD/JPY also got a jolt higher as such, erasing losses from 133.30 to around 133.70 levels at the moment.
There were other more interesting moves in FX though, with EUR/USD climbing all the way from 1.0990 in the handover from Asia all the way to 1.1060. There are plenty of large option expiries in the pair, with one layered around current levels at 1.1030-45 so just be wary of that.
The pound also capitalised on the dollar softness with GBP/USD rising from 1.2430 to a high of 1.2490 during the session.
The aussie and the kiwi failed to find much respite though, with sentiment in the former being more of a drag. AUD/USD slumped to 0.6600 and fresh six-week lows after markets are now convinced that the RBA will not raise rates in May, following softer CPI data earlier in the day.