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US indices finished yesterday's session mixed as an attempt to recover from the previous day's sell-off failed. S&P 500 gained 0.21%, Dow Jones moved 0.19% higher, Nasdaq finished flat and Russell 2000 dropped 0.34%
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Indices from Asia traded higher today. Nikkei gained 1.6%, S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2% and Kospi moved 0.7% higher. Majority of indices from China also traded higher
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DAX futures point to a higher opening of the European cash session
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In spite of the significant weakening of JPY, Bank of Japan decided to leave policy settings (interest rate, target yield) unchanged at today's meeting. USDJPY spiked on the news and is trading just slightly above 130.00
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According to Financial Times report, some major natural gas companies from Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary are preparing to make payments for Russian natural gas in rubles
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Japanese industrial production increased 0.3% MoM in March (exp. 0.4% MoM)
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Japanese retail sales increased 0.9% YoY in March (exp. 0.4% YoY)
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Meta Platforms (FB.US) reported Q1 revenue at $27.91 billion (exp. $28.2 billion) and EPS at $2.72 (exp. $2.56). Number of daily active users beat expectations slightly but the number of monthly active users disappointed. Stock gained over 18% in the after-hours trading
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Cryptocurrencies trade mixed but scale of moves is small. Bitcoin gained 0.1% while Ethereum drops 0.4%
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Energy commodities trade lower. Brent trades 1.9% lower while WTI drops 1.8%
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Precious metals are pulling back. Palladium is an exception as it trades 1.2% higher
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USD and CAD are the best performing major currencies while JPY and NZD lag the most
In spite of significant yen weakening, the Bank of Japan decided to leave policy settings unchanged and wait for future developments. Investors rushed to sell Japanese currency in response, pushing USDJPY above the 130.00 handle - levels not seen since Q2 2002. Source: xStation5
