USD Rallies alongside Stocks on Growth Story

Stronger than expected Manuf ISM and consumer sentiment figures from the US are further empowering the notion that the US growth exceeds that in Europe and Japan, boosting the US dollar across the board. This is also used to explain why both USD and equities are pushing higher. Markets expect the sequester deadline will be avoided and another temporary solution will be introduced. Meanwhile, the Italian election impasse is expected to persist until Mid March when a temporary govt is appointed until a possible 2nd round of elections in June. 7 Premium trades hit their final targets over the last 24 hours: Both shorts in GBPUSD hit their targets of 1.5010 & 1.5100 (entries at 1.5170 and 1.5220). Gold hit 1580 & 1567 (entries at 1620 & 1597). Silver hit 28.00 from 29.10 entry. The EURGBP long at 0.8590 missed the final 0.8690 by 3 pips and remains in progress. Oil short at 93.20 hit final target of 92.00, while the 93.40 missed the fill by 3 pips. Yesterday's 2 shorts in EURUSD from 1.3110 to 1.3040 missed the fill by 7 pips, while both longs remain in progress.