EQUITIES
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Thursday. Shares in Australia led gains among the region’s major markets, with the S&P/ASX 200 up almost 1%. Mainland Chinese market rebounded from earlier losses as the Shanghai composite rose 0.19% while the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 0.82%. The South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 0.15%, the India’s S&P BSE Sensex index added 0.69%, and the Singapore’s Straits Times index traded around the flatline, gained around 0.03%.
Japan’s market, on the other hand, slipped to trade at -0.49% lower.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.05% to 33,446.26, the S&P 500 gained 0.15% to 4,079.95 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.07% to 13,688.84.
OIL
Oil prices fell on Thursday, capped by rising gasoline inventories. The Brent crude futures traded to $62.94 per barrel, and the U.S. crude futures at $59.63 per barrel.
Overnight, the Brent closed at $63.16 while WTI ended at $59.77 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
Following the release of the FOMC minutes, yields have since eased back a little to 1.667%, from the recent 14-month top of 1.776%.
Tracking a lower Treasury yields, the dollar also slipped to 2-week troughs versus major peers on Thursday, as it, before steadying to 92.39.
GOLD
Gold prices rose on pullback of dollar and Treasury yields. The spot gold rose to trade at $1,738.50 an ounce, though slipped to around $1,739.90 per ounce for gold futures. Previously closed at $1,737.60 and $1,741.60, respectively.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian share markets lagged on Thursday after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March policy meeting offered no new catalysts to dictate market direction.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting reiterated its commitment to keep interest rates low until the U.S. economy makes a more secure recovery. Fed's commentary reinforced investor expectations that the central bank plans to maintain its policy support despite massive fiscal spending from the recent government stimulus package.
The EIA figures reported U.S. oil inventories hit a 5-week low, while gasoline holdings rose. Crude stocks fell 3.5 million barrels last week, and gasoline inventories jumped 4 million barrels.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at an IMF event later today and is likely to reiterate the dovish outlook.
To date, number of confirmed worldwide cases for COVID-19 pandemic has surpassed 132.97 million, recording more than 2.88 million fatality globally.
TECHNICAL OUTLOOK
[USDJPY]
Important Levels to Watch for Today:
- Resistance line of 110.021 and 110.170.
- Support line of 109.537 and 109.377.
Commentary/ Reason:
The dollar was down -0.11% at 109.710 yen, further faded from its recent 1-year peak of 110.963 reached on March 31.
A drop in Treasury yields pressured the greenback.
The minutes of the Mar 16-17 FOMC meeting were negative for the dollar as they stated that policymakers agreed the economy was far from their long-term goals and that "the path ahead remained highly uncertain with considerable risks to the economic outlook" from the pandemic. Comments on Wednesday from Chicago Fed President Evans also weighed on the dollar.
