It was a very bullish end to April with Treasuries and Wall Street ending in the green on the month. Better than expected earnings news from most of big tech, and data reflecting a still resilient economy helped propel the major indexes higher. Today, USD to the upside, extending to 101.60. Wall Street is firmer in spite of upcoming Fed hike, while all the attention is on First Republic.
The Wall Street Journal reported that: “Federal regulators were poised to seize the First Republic Bank (-43.34% Friday) and sell it to a larger lender.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and PNC Financial Services Group (PNC), Citizens Financial Group (CFG) and US Bancorp (USB) were also reportedly invited for bidding” – this would mark the third US bank failure this year. China’s manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in April.
- FX – USDIndex rose to a high of 101.60. USDJPY keep extending gains to 136.98, amid market uncertainty and on the BoJ’s commitment to an uber-accommodative stance.
- Stocks – The US500 up at +0.13% to 4193.75, the US30 muted to 34209 and US100 +0.27% at 13356.
- Commodities – USOil falls to $75.80 after data from China reignited concerns about a patchy recovery in the world’s biggest crude importer.
- Gold – at $1979.
- Cryptocurrencies – BTC has slipped back to $28173 from $30K highs.
Today – US ISM Manufacturing PMI. Biggest FX Mover @ (06:30 GMT) AUDJPY (+0.88%) a breath below 91.00. MAs aligned higher, MACD histogram & signal line rising, Stochastics at 93 and flattened.