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OVERNIGHT MARKET SNAPSHOT FOR MONDAY 20/04/20
- SPI200 (Jun) overnight futures up 1 pts to 5464
- SP500 up 75.01 pts to 2874.56
- NASDAQ up 117.78 pts to 8650.14
- Dow Jones up 704.81 pts to 24,242.49
- FTSE100 up 158.53 pts to 5786.96
- DAX30 up 324.24 pts to 10,625.78
- GOLD futures (June Contract) down $32.90 to $1698.80 an ounce
- COPPER futures (Comex July) up $0.049 to $2.340 a pound
- OIL futures US Session (Nymex May) down $1.60 to $18.27 a barrel
- CRB Index up 0.17 pts to 123.80
- AUDUSD trading at 0.6366
- EURUSD trading at 1.0875
- GBPUSD trading at 1.2499
- USDJPY trading at 107.5500
- USD Index US Session (ICE June) down 0.313 to 99.787
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US Indexes had a big end to the week to baffle bears into submission. Trump continues to talk up his plans to revive the battered economy although he is at loggerheads with states that refuse to be bullied and prefer to get a more conclusive answers from further testing. China along with Germany, Italy, Spain and other parts of Europe also have plans to reopen their economies even as the death toll from the pandemic rises. The bulls are happy to charge in to the stock market on hopes that the economy may get re-started sooner rather than later. Major Indexes rallied hard during the Asian session after news that a clinical trial for a potential drug to treat COVID-19 is showing positive early signs. The DOW finished up 2.99% while the broader SP500 was up 2.68% and the Nasdaq lagged ending up 1.38% for the session. In Europe, stock Indexes also gathered steam on Trumps plans to re-open the US economy.
Bond prices are not showing such a bullish sentiment as share markets are. In the US, long dated yields fell to two week lows despite the higher risk appetite indicating there is still safe haven buying. In Europe, Italy’s government bonds, which have been under pressure as the country’s virus difficulties push its debt-to-GDP ratio toward 150%, rallied again.
The USD Index was very choppy Friday as price retested the previous session highs before falling away into the close of US trade. It seems that there is still a battle between the bulls and bears as bonds signal higher USD prices although the stock market is saying something different as traders go risk on. The EURUSD , as expected, retested the lows before finishing higher into the US close. Price looks set to move up with a break of 1.0890 but expect a squeeze lower first to force out some buyers. The GBPUSD also found support at 1.2408 before moving higher into the close. If buyers can clear out 1.2520, then a retest of the level may provide a buying opportunity. The AUDUSD is a little more uncertain as price is holding minor lower higher and higher lows. Watching for a break up and hold of a higher low which will lead to a rally through 0.6400. The USDJPY is still looking heavy and has the potential to retest lower levels if the US dollar continues to find sellers.
SPOT GOLD was hit hard as price broke clear below 1705 as expected. Buyers locked away gains from the previous run up so the question is now whether the move is enough to entice new buyers in to support price and build for a new leg up. It is too early to say yet as the break lower is of some key levels and may trigger longer term buyers to come under pressure. Crude Oil moved lower as the May futures contract expires and became less liquid although the next spot month which is June, was also finding selling pressure. Buyers are still clearly struggling with demand as US storage rapidly fills with excess supply. Copper rallied hard into the open of the Asian session Friday and managed to hold onto the gains into the close of the US session. Expect the theme to continue if traders remain risk on into share markets.
Cryptocurrencies had a quiet weekend as prices continue to hold recent gains and look relatively bullish. Bitcoin is currently trading at $7144.5 down 0.68% while Ethereum is setting up nicely and is trading at $181.73 down 0.69% while Ripple is at $0.19124 down 1.29%.
The ASX200 opened up strong Friday and peaked around midday before drifting lower into the close to give up some of the earlier gains. At the close the Index ended up 71.2 points to 5487.5. The Gold Sector was the only sector under any pressure as Industrials and Consumer Discretionary stocks performed the best. Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones by 938 to 352 and 259 ended unchanged.
The ASX200 is expected to open up flat as the SPI200 overnight market on Friday lacked the enthusiasm of the US. We do expect to see a higher low hold as buyers jump in to the ASX and add risk to their portfolios following in the footsteps of US and European markets.
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ECONOMIC DATA OUT TODAY (AEDT)
JPY Trade Balance 9:50am
EUR German PPI Data 4pm
EUR Current Account 6pm
EUR Trade Balance 7pm
EUR German Buba Monthly Report Tentative
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SPI200 INTRADAY LEVELS TO WATCH
