Australian Dollar

By Chris Becker  Risk swung back to confidence overnight as the Federal Reserve turned Japanese in its rhetoric, while US initial and continuing jobless claims hit new record highs and well above expectations.

DXY fell last night: The Australian dollar rocket re-ignited: Gold jumped: Oil fell: Dirt rallied: Miners too: EM stocks yawned: And junk: Bonds were smartly bid: Stocks took off.

Yet another day of mixed results here in Asia with the return of Japanese traders not increasing any risk appetites.

By Chris Becker  Risk sentiment is as petulant as a six year old boy cooped up doing homeschooling for the third week in a row, having a tantrum overnight as Federal Reserve officials continued to explain their monetary stimulus program to a market that just wants more and more.

DXY took off last night.

I have noted many times the automated trading strategies and algos of Wall Street pertaining to stocks.

By Chris Becker  A better mood on risk markets overnight as more regions and countries announce easing on lockdowns in the face of the coronavirus impact, with markets still pricing in a sharp V-shaped recovery.

Swings and roundabouts as risk taking came back to bid across what remains open here in Asia, with stock markets up and European futures looking bright for tonight’s session.

By Chris Becker  Quite a mixed session overnight following an equally mixed bag of results in Asian trading yesterday.

From Westpac’s Robert Rennie: A$ ‘fair value’ midpoint at 0.61 which is fresh 19yr low, driven by sharp falls in Australian commodity export prices inc met coal down 26% in April; thermal coal down 22%.

Risk was again off today here in Asia despite several closed markets for the May Day holidays with the Sell in May meme in full swing as European futures are down over 3% going into the London open.

By Chris Becker  The Sell in May crowd began in earnest on Friday night, following the window dressing of Thursday, sending Wall Street down nearly 3% as caution returned following many US states jumping the gun on re-opening their economies.

DXY is still falling: The Australian dollar was smashed on all of the crosses: Gold bounced: Brent too, not WTI: Dirt rolled sharply: Miners were hammered: With EM stocks: Junk fell: Bonds were bid: Stocks corrected for a second day: So, are we into the next down leg for stocks and the Australian dollar?

Risk was definitely off today here in Asia as traders started the Sell in May and go away meme with gusto, particularly locally as Aussie stocks slumped.

By Chris Becker  You guessed it – sentiment swung back to fear again last night as a slew of European data and the latest ECB meeting failed to rekindle animal spirits on stock markets.

More risk taking – literally – as stock markets continued higher on the surge on Wall Street overnight as the US prepares to reopen its economy as fast as possible, despite not flattening its curve in any shape or fashion.

By Chris Becker  Sentiment swings again with hope around new treatments for COVID-19 while the Fed held to its stimulating course in the FOMC meeting overnight as the first quarter GDP figures slumped as expected.

While the silly AFR is busy cheering our demise: A stunning rally for the Australian dollar has almost returned it to pre-pandemic levels reflecting the revival of risk appetite in global shares and the economy’s determination to exit lockdown.

By Chris Becker  It’s getting tiresome but predictable as sentiment continues to swing from hope to caution as US stocks pulled back due to more earnings guidance being muted or reduced once more, particularly tech stocks and big caps.