EQUITIES
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Thursday, with the South Korea’s KOSPI leading the gains at 2.58% higher, followed by the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index by 2.15% and the Shanghai composite at 1.07%. The Nikkei 225 added 1.56%, the Singapore’s Straits Times index advanced 1.53%, the India’s S&P BSE Sensex index rose 1.04%, and the Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 0.86%.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 400 points to a record closing high of 31,961.86. The S&P 500 gained 1.1% to finish its trading day at 3,925.40 while the Nasdaq Composite closed about 1% higher at 13,597.97.
OIL
Crude oil climbed to fresh 13-month highs as traders see supply tightening with demand returning. The international benchmark Brent crude futures traded to $67.23 per barrel, while the U.S. crude futures at $63.28 per barrel.
Overnight, the Brent close at $67.04, while WTI futures ended at $63.22 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.00 — still weaker than level seen last week.
Commodity-linked currencies edged higher, including the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, which are expected to benefit from a pick-up in global trade as growth rebounds.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7968, stronger than levels below $0.784 seen last week. The kiwi gained to 74.33 U.S. cents.
Bitcoin climbed back toward US$50,000 after a plunge earlier this week.
GOLD
Gold slipped, trading at $1,797.90 an ounce, while down around $1,795.20 per ounce for gold futures. Previously closed at $1,804.80 and $1,797.90, respectively.
Silver at $28.05 an ounce. Platinum at $1,253.00, while palladium at $2,217.00. Copper touched the highest since 2011.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian stocks and U.S. futures rose Thursday after a rebound in the U.S. markets on encouraging vaccine news and soothing remarks on inflation from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
U.S. markets surged overnight with the Dow hitting a record high as bond yields came off their highs after the Fed chairman downplayed the threat of inflation. European stocks also advanced after the Fed chairman's comments and Germany's GDP growth.
Powell reaffirmed the central bank’s commitment to easy policy in his second day of Congressional testimony to the House Committee on Financial Services, pushing back on inflation concerns and saying the U.S. still has a long way to recover, saying it could take three years to reach the central bank’s target consistently.
To date, number of confirmed worldwide cases for COVID-19 pandemic has surpassed 112.543 million, recording more than 2.497 million fatality globally.
TECHNICAL OUTLOOK
[USDJPY]
Important Levels to Watch for Today:
- Resistance line of 106.299 and 106.629.
- Support line of 105.231 and 104.901.
Commentary/ Reason:
The Japanese yen weakened versus the greenback at 105.906 per dollar.
USD/JPY rallied for third day to touch a 1-week high on comments from BOJ Governor Kuroda, who said wage gains in Japan have been slow compared with economic growth, and that it is "too early" to consider an exit strategy from asset purchases.
The yen also fell back today on strength in stock market, which reduces the safe-haven demand for the yen.
