Headlines:
- USD/JPY retreats from over six-year highs
- China's third largest developer unable to make two bond payments amid liquidity pressure
- EU's von der Leyen: Under the deal, US LNG will replace that of Russia's
- Germany March Ifo business climate index 90.8 vs 94.2 expected
- Germany says hopes to halve oil imports from Russia by the summer
- Spain Q4 final GDP +2.2% vs +2.0% q/q prelim
Markets:
- JPY leads, USD lags on the day
- European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.3%
- US 10-year yields up 2.4 bps to 2.365%
- Gold down 0.3% to $1,951.40
- WTI down 1.7% to $110.39
- Bitcoin up 1.5% to $44,581
It was a quiet session for the most part with little action to take note of. Headlines were few and far between with the only notable one being that the EU securing a LNG deal with the US to try and break away from its dependence on Russia.
Equities were little changed early on but is pressing a little higher now while the bond selloff is sticking but at a more measured pace for the time being.
In FX, the dollar is trading more mixed with EUR/USD keeping just above 1.1000 for now while the yen is leading gains after a pullback in late Asia Pacific trading. USD/JPY fell from 121.80 to 121.20 before sticking around 121.50-70 levels for the most part in European trading.
The jump in the yen was helped by some jawboning by Japanese officials earlier.
Other major currencies remain little changed, though the franc is holding a slight advance.
There isn't much in terms of headlines to work with ahead of the weekend so the ebb and flow of things will continue to dominate proceedings. In that sense, the technicals will also matter so be wary of that.
For the S&P 500, the 100-day moving average sits @ 4,547 while in FX, AUD/USD is looking to push past 0.7500 to the October highs @ 0.7555. USD/JPY may be seeing a shave off the top but keep above 120.00 and it is still a very, very solid week for buyers.