- US indices finished yesterday's session lower. S&P 500 fell 0.24%, Dow Jones lost 0.21% and Nasdaq closed flat. Russell 2000 dropped 0.61%
- Stocks in Asia traded mixed today. Nikkei gained 0.34%, S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.07% and Kospi rose 0.05% and indices from China struggled to find common direction
- DAX futures point to a slightly higher opening of the European session
- RBNZ left policy unchanged and Gov Orr expects inflation pressures to be temporary
- RBNZ projections indicate the cash rate may rise in the second half of 2022.
- Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said the central bank would be able to curb an outbreak of inflation, if it occurs, without derailing the economic rebound.
- The US removes Xiaomi from blacklist
- Commercial Bank of China received approval to set up a foreign-controlled wealth management firm with Goldman Sachs.
- API report showed stocks of crude oil in the US decreased by 0.439 million barrels (expected 1.279 million drop)
- Australia - Westpac leading indicator for April +0.2% m/m (prior +0.45%, revised up from +0.38%)
- Japan PPI Services for April +1.0% y/y (expected 0.9%)
- Bitcoin trades above 39,000 USD, Ethereum jumped above 2,800 USD
- NZD and AUD are the best performing major currencies while JPY and USD lag the most
NZDJPY pair rose sharply following the RBNZ monetary policy statement and reached the highest level since April 2018. If the current sentiment prevails, an upward move may accelerate towards resistance at 80.75 which coincides with 61.8 Fibonacci retracement of the entire downward wave which started back in January 2015. Source:xStation5