Market Brief
The Usd was stronger in the Asian session, as concerns over the US automakers sustainability increased. The White House said that bankruptcy might be the best option for GM and Chrysler, fueling another wave of risk aversion buying. The EurUsd traded from 1.3280 to 1.3182, while the UsdJpy fell sharply from 98.32 to 96.55. The rapid turn in risk sentiment spilt over to carry trades, with the GbpJpy slipping from 140.47 to 136.86. Meanwhile, the sell-off in commodity prices (copper falling nearly 5.0% in two days) put pressure on commodity currencies as the AudUsd, fell from 0.6928 to 0.6807. The complete collapse of risk appetite began last Friday when German Finance Minister Steinbrück warned that the Euro would be vulnerable if the stability pact was not taken seriously. Combined with BoE MPC member Dale stating additional QE might be necessary due to declining economic forecasts, participants crowded into safe have trades. Equity markets are red across the board, from Asia's lower close though US stock futures. With the ECB rate announcement and press conference (see central bank preview), G20 meeting and NFP ahead of traders, we expect risk sentiment to stay fragile benefiting Usd and Jpy trades.
| Global Indexes | Current Level | % Change |
| Nikkei 225 Index | 8,236.08 | -4.53 |
| Hang Seng Index | 13,458.33 | -4.68 |
| Shanghai Index | 2,358.04 | -0.69 |
| FTSE 100 Index | 3,799.57 | -2.54 |
| DAX Index | 4,049.39 | -3.66 |
| SMI Index | 4,731.80 | -2.88 |
| DJIA futures | 7,547.80 | -2.77 |
| World Markets | Current Level | % Change |
| Gold | 926.14 | 0.32 |
| Silver | 13.31 | -0.18 |
| VIX | 41.04 | 1.68 |
| Crude wti | 50.67 | -3.26 |
| USD Index | 85.61 | 0.58 |
| Todays Calender | Estimates | Previous | Country / GMT |
| BoE Mortgage Approvals (Feb) | 34,000 | 31,000 | UK / 8.30 |
| Consumer Credit (Feb) | £0.4bn | £0.4bn | UK / 8.30 |
| M4 Money Supply (Feb Final) | -- | +1.4%,18.8 | UK / 8.30 |
| Economic Sentiment (Mar) | 65.8 | 65.4 | EZ / 10.00 |
| Industrial Confidence index Mar | -36 | -36 | EZ / 10.00 |
| Consumer Confidence index Mar | -34 | -33 | EZ / 10.00 |
| Gfk consumer confidence index mar | -- | -35 | UK / 23.01 |
Currency Tech
AUDUSD
R 3: 0.7268
R 2: 0.7142
R 1: 0.7094
CURRENT: 0.6782
S 1: 0.6724
S 2: 0.6567
S 3: 0.6513
EURJPY
R 3: 134.51
R 2: 133.92
R 1: 130.55
CURRENT: 126.73
S 1: 127.17
S 2: 125.45
S 3: 122.13
USDSGD
R 3: 1.5528
R 2: 1.5443
R 1: 1.5361
CURRENT: 1.5226
S 1: 1.5028
S 2: 1.4904
S 3: 1.4805
- S: Strong, M: Minor, T: Trendline, K: Keylevel, P: Pivot
