Market Brief
The Usd was weaker in the Asian session, as risk appetite is still in flux. Unease surrounding the US bank stress test was soothed slightly on Friday, as the methodology released proved uncontroversial and the Fed stated that most banks were "well capitalized". However, today, a Bloomberg story stated that the Süddeutsche Zeitung (German newspaper) reported that German banks potentially face another USD1trn in write-downs due to exposure to Eastern Europe, causing a rebound in risk aversion and Usd and Jpy buying. The EurUsd traded down to 1.3135 from 1.3240, while the UsdJpy was down sharply to 1.5040 from 1.5090. Jpy crosses came under selling pressure with the GbpJpy dropping to 140.66 from 142.00. At the G7/G20 meeting this weekend, officials were unable to agree on how the much hyped $1.1trn funding boost to the IMF would be funded. And from outside the financial realm, the spread of swine flu that originated in Mexico and spread to the US and to New Zealand could also have a negative effect on risky assets similarly to the 2001 SARS outbreak. While Friday US equity session closed on a positive note, Asian regional indexes have been unable to hold the positive tone. Currently both European and US futures are pointing to a lower open. Last week, risk appetite was able to hold its ground, but we doubt this will be the case this week. We will be looking for opportunities to buy Usd specifically against the Gbp and Eur. In addition, with pressure from every direction mounting on Mexico and an ANC/Zuma landslide win in South Africa, which will prove harmful for the country, we are negative on both MXN and ZAR
| Global Indexes | Current Level | % Change |
| Nikkei 225 Index | 8,726.34 | 0.21 |
| Hang Seng Index | 14,842.82 | -2.72 |
| Shanghai Index | 2,398.74 | -2.03 |
| FTSE futures | 4,107.50 | 3.33 |
| DAX futures | 4,618.50 | -1.21 |
| SMI Futures | 5,032.00 | -0.65 |
| DJIA futures | 7,927.00 | -1.6 |
| World Markets | Current Level | % Change |
| Gold | 915.03 | 0.2 |
| Silver | 13.09 | 1.63 |
| VIX | 36.82 | -0.88 |
| Crude wti | 50.33 | -2.36 |
| USD Index | 85.21 | 0.58 |
| Todays Calender | Estimates | Previous | Country / GMT |
| Trade balance, SEK bn Mar | -- | 9.5 | SEK / 7.30 |
| BBA mortgage approvals, K Mar | -- | 28 | GBP / 8.30 |
| BBA net consumer credit, £ bn Mar | -- | -0.2 | GBP / 8.30 |
Currency Tech
AUDUSD
R 3: 0.7355
R 2: 0.7327
R 1: 0.7250
CURRENT: 0.7128
S 1: 0.7030
S 2: 0.7000
S 3: 0.6955
EURJPY
R 3: 132.02
R 2: 131.45
R 1: 129.70
CURRENT: 126.89
S 1: 126.10
S 2: 125.45
S 3. 122.13
USDSGD
R 3: 1.5188
R 2: 1.5135
R 1: 1.5090
CURRENT: 1.4935
S 1: 1.4805
S 2: 1.4705
S 3: 1.4675
- S: Strong, M: Minor, T: Trendline, K: Keylevel, P: Pivot
