Forex News from InstaForex

[IFX Gertrude]

Australia Has A$1.302 Billion Trade Surplus



Australia had a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$1.302 billion in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

That was shy of expectations for a surplus of A$3.80 billion and was down from A$3.334 billion in December.

Exports were down 3.0 percent on month to A$31.796, while imports advanced 4.0 percent to A$30.494 billion.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Yahoo executives familiar with 2014 hack prior to Verizon deal



Yahoo admitted its senior executives were knowledgeable about a hack by a state-backed attacker in 2014 before it struck a $4.8 billion agreement with Verizon last summer.

Based on a probe by a separate panel, the technology company's senior officials and relevant legal staff were familiar with the incident but did not investigate it to the full extent of what was known by the firm's information security group.

It did not conclude that concealing these details was done intentionally.

Chief Executive Marissa Mayer announced she will relinquish her annual bonus and equity grant to Yahoo employees to compensate for the security breaches that took place in 2013 and 2014.

Yahoo's general counsel Ronald Bell left the company without any payoffs.

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[IFX Gertrude]

China Services PMI Falls To 52.6 In February - Caixin



The services sector in China continued to expand in February, although at a slightly slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed on Friday with a PMI score of 52.6.

That was down from 53.1 in January, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The composite index also checked in at 52.6, up from 52.2 in the previous month.

Individually, new business picked up, while employment also expanded but at a slower pace.

Inflationary pressures continued to ease, while business sentiment ticked slightly higher.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Dollar Firms as Investors Price in March Fed Hike



The dollar maintained its strength on Friday as the rising probability of a U.S. interest rate hike hurt appetite for sovereign bonds and commodities.

The dollar held broad gains at 114. 28 yen and bordered a peak of 114.95 versus the Japanese currency. A dollar index slipped by a fraction to 102.070 after hitting its peak level since January 11.

Hawkish remarks echoed by several influential Fed officials caused the implied probability of a move from the U.S. central bank to further tighten monetary policy during a policy meeting on March 14-15 to shoot up to 74 percent, from just 30 percent at the beginning of the week.

Market participants are expected to closely observe Fed Chair Janet Yellen and Vice Chair Stanley's speeches later on Friday whether they will reiterate the hawkish stance. But traders are already expecting the top Fed officials to stick to the same tune.

Analysts said that the markets are now locking on their bets, with the assumption that a rate hike “soon” can be as early as this March and that perhaps 3 rate hikes will be seen this year, in line with Fed's set pace of rate increases.

The rise in the greenback hurt demand for commodities which are usually traded in dollar terms.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Fxwirepro: Eur/krw Hits Fresh 4-Week High at 1,225 Mark, Faces Strong Resistance at 1,228



EUR/KRW is currently trading around 1,224 mark.

Pair made intraday high at 1,225 and low at 1,219 levels.

Intraday bias remains bullish till the time pair holds key support at 1,221 mark.

A daily close below 1,221 will drag the parity down towards key supports around 1,207, 1,199, 1,191, 1,184, 1,178 and 1,163 marks respectively.

Alternatively, a sustained close above 1,221 will take the parity higher towards key resistances around 1,228, 1,233, 1,242, 1,252, 1,268, 1,272, 1,280, 1,287 and 1,304 marks respectively.

Seoul shares open down 0.27 pct at 2073.20.

South Korea’s February FX reserves increase to 373.91 bln $.

We prefer to take short position in EUR/KRW around 1,225, stop loss at 1,235 and target of 1,205.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

U.S. Energy Sector Slides in 2017



The energy sector is the stock market's biggest failure so far this year after it showed a stellar performance the previous year, as the rest of 2017 might also be a rough period for investors due to uncertainty. Shares of energy have been weak after surging in mid-December and have been the worst-performing of the S&P 500's 11 stock sectors this year.

Producers of oil have been the weakest among energy sub-industries, due to skepticism regarding the demand outlook as well as the unexpectedly high level of crude and finished product inventories. This year, energy has declined five percent, compared to the six percent increase for the overall S&P 500. However, analysts claim that production firms might be in the best position for gains. Investors have raised their wages on the sector, around $263 million has flowed into U.S.-listed energy mutual and exchange-traded-funds this year through February, according to data from Lipper. The Energy Sector Select SPDR Fund has attracted $400 million of new investment, it said.

Energy surpassed all other sectors in 2016, up by almost 24 percent due to the late-year rally following the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president which fuelled investor hopes for industry-friendly policies. Since the election, refiners have gained over 9.5 percent, while oil producers added less than two percent, the weakest energy sub-sector.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Fxwirepro: Aussie Marginally Higher Against Major Peers ahead of Rba’s Cash Rate Decision



AUD/NZD is currently trading around 1.0852 marks.

Pair made intraday high at 1.0856 and low at 1.0829 marks.

Intraday bias remains bullish till the time pair holds immediate support at 1.0779 marks.

A daily close below 1.0838 will take the parity down towards key supports around 1.0779, 1.0713, 1.0670, 1.0616, 1.0594, 1.0552, 1.0516, 1.0460, 1.0412 and 1.0370 marks respectively.

On the other side, a sustained close above 1.0838 will drag the parity higher towards key resistances at 1.0976 (January 2016 high) /1.1062 (30D EMA) levels respectively.

RBA will release cash rate decision at 0330 GMT.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Snap Shares Experience First Slide on Analysts’ Downgrade



Following a strong market debut, Snap Inc. fell for the first time and edged down below the opening price of $24 during its first day of public trading after analysts started expressing their stance regarding the firm's true valuation.

The Snapchat-parent prices shares in its IPO which was warmly received by the market, surging by 44% on their first day of trading due to the strong demand. Its dramatic rally continued on Friday, rising further by 11%.

However, by Monday, majority of the seven analysts who are assigned to Snap had a sell recommendation on the stock, while two adviced to hold. Data showed no analyst stamped the stock with a 'buy' rating.

An analyst at Needham & Co. said the shares were overpriced during its IPO and estimated the firm will see a declining trend in earnings and valuation adjustments in the first two years of its public trading, stating that Snap's value was actually at $19 to $23 per share. A Morningstar Inc. analyst said that the company's monetization capabilities are not as strong as its valuation implies, and priced it at $15.

Snap sank 12 percent to trade at $23.77 at the close of New York trading, bringing down its value to around 28 billion.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Fxwirepro: South Korean Won Erases Previous Loss Against Euro, Stay Bearish Below 1,211



EUR/KRW is currently trading around 1,212 mark.

Pair made intraday high at 1,214 and low at 1,211 levels.

Intraday bias remains bearish till the time pair holds key resistance at 1,222 mark.

A daily close below 1,213 will drag the parity down towards key supports around 1,206, 1,199, 1,191, 1,184, 1,178 and 1,163 marks respectively.

Alternatively, a sustained close above 1,213 will take the parity higher towards key resistances around 1,222, 1,229, 1,233, 1,242, 1,252, 1,268, 1,272, 1,280, 1,287 and 1,304 marks respectively.

Seoul shares open down 0.09 pct at 2092.27.

Important to note here that 20D, 30D and 55D EMA heads down and confirms the bearish trend in a daily chart.

We prefer to take short position in EUR/KRW only below 1,211, stop loss at 1,222 and target of 1,205/1,199.

News are provided byInstaForex.

[IFX Gertrude]

Dollar Steady as Focus on U.S. Jobs Report



The dollar stood flat, its modest gain from the previous day, as investors await Friday's U.S. jobs report.

The greenback reached a two-month peak against a basket of peers the previous week as Federal Reserve officials spoke in favor of the probability of an interest rate increase in March. However, the dollar appears to be sitting in a tight range since the hike is highly believed to be a done deal.

The dollar was almost little changed at 113.925 yen after increasing modestly to 114.160 overnight. The euro was relatively flat at $1.0569 after edging down 0.1 percent the day earlier. The dollar index, which notched a two-month high of 102.260 last Thursday, was stable at 101.820. The pound dropped to a seven-week trench the previous day as latest data added pressure on Britain's economy. Sterling was little changed at $1.2202 after slipping 0.3 percent overnight.

The Australian dollar was up 0.1 percent to $0.7592. The Aussie jumped $0.7633 on Tuesday after the central bank held interest rates unchanged. The Swiss franc pulled back to multi-week lows, affected by an increase in the Swiss National Bank's foreign exchange reserves and statements from SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan that the franc was "significantly over-valued."

News are provided byInstaForex.