Australian stocks hit highest since December 2007

Australian stocks are trading at 12-year highs this Monday morning.
Australian PM Scott Morrison’s surprise miracle win and tax cut pledge is likely pushing stocks higher.

Omkar Godbole FXStreet Contributor

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s surprise victory in weekend election is boding well for the domestic stock market.

The S&P/ASX 200 is currently trading at 6,474, the highest level since December 2007, representing 2% gains on the day.

Morrison’s Liberal-National coalition will secure 77 seats in the 151-member lower house, the Australian broadcasting Corp. projected earlier today.

Prime Minister’s victory is being called the biggest come-from-behind win in a generation. After all, the coalition was trailing in most opinion polls.

The election results indicate the voters rejected opposition’s pledge to redistribute wealth and boost the minimum wage growth and have accepted Morrison’s pitch for economic stability. Just hours after claiming victory, the Prime Minister pledged to deliver tax relief, which could boost consumer spending and help shore up the economy.

While Australia stocks are solidly bid, other regional indices are also flashing green. Japan’s Nikkei is currently up 0.60% on the day and South Korea’s Kospi is flashing 1% gains. The futures on the S&P 500 are also up 0.40%.

Author

Omkar Godbole

FXStreet Contributor

Omkar Godbole, editor and analyst, joined FXStreet after four years as a research analyst at several Indian brokerage companies.

EUR/USD faces next resistance near 1.1930

EUR/USD has surrendered its earlier intraday advance on Thursday and is now hovering uncomfortably around the 1.1860 region amid modest gains in the US Dolla. Moving forward, markets are exoected to closely follow Friday’s release of US CPI data.

GBP/USD inching closer to 1.36

The Pound Sterling edged higher to 1.3640 on Thursday, recovering from an earlier pullback after stronger-than-expected US jobs data initially weighed on the pair. The Bank of England held rates at 3.75% at its February 4 meeting in a narrow 5-4 vote split, with four members preferring a 25 basis point cut to 3.50%.

Gold falls to near $4,900 as selling pressure intensifies

Gold price faces some selling pressure around $4,910 during the early Asian session on Friday. The yellow metal tumbles over 3.50% on the day, with algorithmic traders appearing to amplify the precious metal’s sudden drop. Traders will closely monitor the release of the US Consumer Price Index inflation report for January, which will be released later on Friday.

Ethereum investors face huge unrealized losses following price slump

US spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds flipped negative again on Wednesday after recording net outflows of $129.1 million, reversing mild inflows seen at the beginning of the week, per SoSoValue data. Fidelity's FETH was responsible for more than half of withdrawals, posting outflows of $67 million.

A tale of two labour markets: Headline strength masks underlying weakness

Undoubtedly, yesterday’s delayed US January jobs report delivered a strong headline – one that surpassed most estimates. However, optimism quickly faded amid sobering benchmark revisions.

Aster Price Forecast: Demand sparks on Binance Wallet partnership for on-chain perpetuals

Aster is up roughly 9% so far on Thursday, hinting at the breakout of a crucial resistance level. Aster partners up with Binance wallet for the second season of the on-chain perpetuals challenge.