Morning Wrap (29.04.2024)

Indices from the Asia-Pacific region have a positive session. The biggest gains are seen in Chinese indices: CHN.cash (+0.96%) and HK.cash (+1.35%). The Singapore SG20cash index is down 0.18%, Australia's AUS200 (S&P/ASX200) is up 0.60%, and Japan's JAP225 (Nikkei225) is up 0.37%.

European index futures indicate a slightly higher opening for the cash session in Europe. Futures contracts for German and UK indices gain around 0.20%-0.40%.

On the forex market, significant movements are seen in the first half of the day. One of the stronger currencies is the Japanese yen (JPY), which gains over 1.0%. On the other hand, among the weakest currencies are the USD, CAD, and EUR. The USD dollar is particularly weak, losing over 0.3%-0.6%, with the USDJPY pair losing 1.2% to 156,000.

Secretary Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel from April 29 to May 1 to meet with regional partners. The visit aims to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that ensures the release of hostages.

Following the recent attack on a British tanker in the Red Sea, a senior Houthi official in the Yemeni capital announces an attack on US assets throughout the region, including military bases on the east coast of Africa in Djibouti, Eritrea, and other locations.

The cryptocurrency market experiences a weaker session. Bitcoin is down 1.20% to $62,360, Ethereum is down 2.15% to $3,200, and the Altcoin market is down 0.91% to a total capitalization of smaller projects equaling $638 billion.

Ethereum saw significant gains over the weekend, surpassing $3,300. The rise was fueled by news of an ETF approval for ETH. However, the current session shows that these gains have led to larger declines.

A catalyst for ETH's weekend gains was the appearance of a ticker for an ETF from Franklin Templeton – Franklin Ethereum TR Ethereum ETF (EZET) – on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) website.

Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON Foundation, said that the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF in the coming month is unlikely.