With the FOMC meeting absorbed all eyes are now on the latest US jobs report tonight with the bounce in tech shares on Wall Street possibly not enough to stave off a general risk off mood. Several major share markets were closed in Asia today so the lead didn’t really matter with local stocks still gaining slightly. The USD remains under the pump with the Australian dollar taking advantage to match its previous weekly high just above the 65 cent level.
Oil prices are trying to stabilise after their recent sharp falls with Brent crude starting just below the $84USD per barrel level while gold is continuing its struggle, steady right on the $2300USD per ounce level this afternoon:
Mainland Chinese share markets were closed while the Hang Seng Index gained more than 1.4% while Japanese stock markets were closed. The lack of traders saw volatility in the USDJPY pair drop back as it tries hard to normalise just above the 153 level:
Australian stocks had a solid session to finish the week with the ASX200 closing some 0.5% higher at 7629 points while the Australian dollar wants to lift higher above the 65 cent level in afternoon trade, matching its previous weekly high:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures are trying to hold on to their nascent overnight gains as we head into the London session with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing price action just below short term resistance at the 5100 point level:
The economic calendar will focus squarely on tonight’s latest US jobs report, aka the non-farm payrolls data for April.
and meanwhile back at the ranch…..