Headlines:
- How hawkish will the ECB be today?
- A potential dollar tailwind that traders should not overlook
- First Horizon, TD decide to call off merger pact
- Eurozone April final services PMI 56.2 vs 56.6 prelim
- Germany March trade balance €16.7 billion vs €16.1 billion expected
- Eurozone March PPI -1.6% vs -1.7% m/m expected
- UK March mortgage approvals 52.01k vs 46.25k expected
- UK April final services PMI 55.9 vs 54.9 prelim
- US April Challenger layoffs 66.99k vs 89.70k prior
Markets:
- NZD leads, CHF lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.3%
- US 10-year yields up 1.3 bps to 3.354%
- Gold up 0.2% to $2,042.41
- WTI crude down 0.1% to $68.50
- Bitcoin up 2.1% to $29,142
It was a tedious session as markets are balancing out having to digest the Fed decision yesterday while preparing for the ECB decision to come later.
On the balance of things, we are still seeing some degree of risk aversion with equities keeping lower and bond yields in general staying subdued after yesterday's fall. The dollar held weaker early on but found some footing in European morning trade, and is now only marginally lower after having pared gains earlier.
EUR/USD is up 0.1% to 1.1070 but saw a bit of a swing around 1.1040 to 1.1080 during the day while USD/JPY is down 0.2% to 134.35 though it was up around 134.65 earlier in the session.
The kiwi is leading the way with NZD/USD up 0.7% to 0.6270 though it is running close to its 100-day moving average at 0.6277 currently.
As we move towards the end of the week, all eyes are now on the ECB and then we'll have to see how US regional banks fare as the dust settles following the Fed.
