CURRENCY MARKET WRAP
As of Wed, Apr 3, Singapore Time zone UTC +8
Dollar Index +0.08%, $97.31
USDJPY, -0.05%, $111.31
EURUSD, -0.08%, $1.1204
GBPUSD, +0.20%, $1.3127
USDCAD, +0.27%, $1.3343
AUDUSD, -0.77%, $0.7057
NZDUSD, -0.81%, $0.6751
U.S. Treasuries closed on a higher note, pushing yields slightly lower. The 2-yr yield decreased one basis point to 2.31%, and the 10-yr yield decreased two basis points to 2.48%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.08% to 97.31. WTI crude rose 1.6% to $62.58/bbl, hitting a new five-month high.
Aussie was offered as the RBA (Cash Rate remained at 1.50% as expected) altered its statement just a bit to alert the market that it is moving to a more dovish posture. Lowe said the central bank board would “continue to monitor developments and set monetary policy to support sustainable growth.”
In Brexit, May announced Tuesday she would seek a longer extension from the European Union to avert a no-deal Brexit on April 12. She also said she would meet with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to try to come up with a compromise Brexit plan.
“Today, I am taking action to break the logjam,” May said in a speech Tuesday. “I am offering to sit down with the leader of the opposition and to try to agree a plan that we would both stick to, to ensure that we leave the European Union and that we do so with a deal.” May added that she would ask the EU to postpone the Brexit deadline until May 22.That would allow the UK to avoid taking part in the European parliamentary elections starting May 23, while still giving her time to forge a compromise deal and win approval for it from the UK Parliament.
STOCK MARKET WRAP
S&P500, +0.01%, 2,867.24
Nasdaq, +0.28%, 7,499.64
Nikkei Futures, +0.48%, 21,553.0
The S&P 500 finished flat on Tuesday in a lacklustre trading session. Price action was relatively muted for most of the day. The S&P 500 consumer staples (-0.8%) and energy (-0.7%) sectors were Tuesday’s outright laggards. Conversely, the real estate (+0.9%), communication services (+0.4%), and materials (+0.4%) sectors outperformed.
Walgreens said it expects FY19 adjusted EPS growth to be flat, versus prior guidance of 7-12% growth, citing several industry challenges. Its negative outlook undercut the consumer staples sector and many health care stocks. The S&P 500 health care sector decreased 0.2%.
Delta Air Lines (DAL 55.33, +3.15, +6.0%) for its part reported total first quarter unit revenue growth at 2%, the top end of prior guidance, and increased its first quarter EPS guidance. Its upbeat outlook fostered buying interest in other airline stocks, which provided offsetting support for the Dow Jones Transportation Average (-0.2%).