Daily Market Outlook from ACFX 30/1/2013

[Atlas CapitalFx]

Daily Market Outlook

Posted by on January 30, 2013

Important Financial Indicators of the day Forecast Previous
EUR Tentative Italian 10 Yr Bond Auction 4.48/1.5
USD 15:15 (GMT) ADP Non Farm Employment Change 164K 215K
USD 15:30 (GMT) Advance GDP q/q 1.1% 3.1%
USD 21:15 (GMT) FOMC Statement
NZD 22:00 (GMT) Official Cash rate 2.50% 2.50%
NZD 22:00 (GMT) RBNZ Rate Statement

Currencies

■USD/JPY The yen declined versus most of its major counterparts as Asian stocks rose for a second day, spurring investors to buy higher-yielding assets amid expectations Japan will expand monetary stimulus.
The yen slid 0.2 percent to 90.92 per dollar as of 2:39
p.m. in Tokyo. It lost 0.2 percent to 122.62 per euro. The
dollar traded at $1.3487, little changed from yesterday, when it
touched $1.3497, the lowest level since Dec. 2, 2011.

■GBP/USD The pound strengthened from a five- month low against the dollar after Bank of England policy maker David Miles said U.K. economic growth is likely to improve to between 2 percent and 2.5 percent a year within 18 months.
The pound appreciated 0.3 percent to $1.5741 at 4:30 p.m.
London time after dropping to $1.5675 yesterday, the lowest
level since Aug. 17. The U.K. currency gained 0.2 percent to
85.56 pence per euro after declining to 85.87 pence yesterday,
the weakest since December 2011.

■USD/CAD The Canadian dollar posted its
biggest gains against its U.S. counterpart in almost a month
after four straight days of losses as the currency failed to
fall below a key technical level.
The loonie, as the Canadian dollar is known for the image
of the aquatic bird on the C$1 coin, rose 0.5 percent to
C$1.0009 per U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. in Toronto, it’s largest gain
since Jan. 2. It matched an almost six-month low yesterday and
last traded weaker than C$1.01 on July 27. One loonie buys 99.91
U.S. cents

Commodities

■Oil traded near the highest level in
four months before a Federal Reserve policy statement that may
signal the central bank will keep adding economic stimulus in
the U.S., the world’s biggest crude user.
WTI crude for March delivery was at $97.52 a barrel, down 5 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:25 p.m. Singapore time. The volume of all futures traded was 51 percent below the 100-day average. Futures rose to $97.57 yesterday, the highest since Sept. 14, and are up 6.2 percent in January.
Brent for March settlement rose 6 cents to $114.42 a barrel
on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The volume of
all futures traded was 25 percent below the 100-day average. The
European benchmark grade was at a premium of $16.77 to West
Texas Intermediate futures, from $16.79 yesterday.

■Gold headed for a fourth decline after data from the U.S. to China added to signs of a recovery, paring demand for haven assets. Palladium advanced to a 16-month high.
Gold gained 0.1 percent to $1,666.05 an ounce,
trimming January’s drop to 0.6 percent, the worst run since May.

Equities

■Asian stocks rose, with the benchmark index poised for is highest close since August 2011, as Japanese shares surged on earnings and amid speculation the Federal Reserve will renew its commitment to asset purchases.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7 percent to 133.44 as
of 2:19 p.m. in Tokyo, with more than twice as many stocks
climbing as falling. The gauge is poised to advance for a third
month as Japanese shares rally on optimism Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe’s new government will add stimulus to fight deflation.

■European stocks rose to the highest
level in more than 23 months as companies reported earnings and
a report showed house prices in 20 U.S. cities increased.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent to 290.3 at the close in London, the highest level since Feb. 18, 2011. The index has climbed 3.8 percent so far this year amid optimism about company earnings and as U.S. lawmakers agreed on a compromise budget to avoid automatic fiscal-reduction measures.

■U.S stocks advanced, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a five-year high,
as companies including Pfizer Inc. and Valero Energy Corp. reported
earnings that beat estimates.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.5 percent to 1,507.84 at 4
p.m. in New York. The Dow added 72.49 points, or 0.5 percent, to
13,954.42, the highest level since October 2007. About 6.9 billion
shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges today, or 12 percent above the
three-month average.