After being lower all day on poor Wal-Mart sales news and fears over foreign demand for US debt (allayed by a strong 10-year note auction), US equities rallied late and both the S&_ and Nasdaq ended higher while the Dow fell only 27 points. Obama layed out his stimulus plan but most of the key points had been aired ahead of the speech, sapping it of importance.
The dollar ends on a soft note but off its worst levels. EUR/USD goes out at 1.3725 while USD/JPY ends at 91.15. The Canadian dollar was a star, rising on cross-related buying for much of the session. GBP/CAD was sold heavily today, leading some to suspect the demand to be deal-driven. USD/CAD ends at 1.1775 ahead of key employment data out of Ottawa first thing Friday morning.
UK and German industrial production and Eurozone retail sales are the data highlights out of Europe early tomorrow.