- European indices finished today's session in mixed moods, with Germany’s DAX rising nearly 1%, while Italian FTSE MIB fell 0.29% as traders continued to monitor the earnings season, while also weighing the prospect of faster monetary policy tightening by major central banks and the evolution of the conflict in Ukraine.
- Major Wall Street indices pared early gains and crossed into negative territory as another set of hawkish comments from FED members overshadowed upbeat earnings posted by Tesla and American Airlines
- Fed's Daly said that the central bank will likely be raising rates by 50 bps at a couple of meetings and policymakers will discuss whether rate hikes at 25, 50, or 75 basis points are needed.
- Fed Chair Powell during panel discussion with ECB Lagarde said it is appropriate to be moving more quickly and front-end loading and a 50 bp hike for May is on the table.
- Lagarde believes that risks to growth are skewed to the downside and she would not rule out that Russian oil and gas is sanctioned
- Eurozone March inflation rate rose 7.4% over the same month in the previous year, compared with preliminary estimates of 7.5%.
- US weekly jobless jumped to 184k last week, slightly above market estimates of 180k.
- The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index fell to 17.6 in April from 27.4 in March, below market expectations of 21.
- NATGAS price fell to $6.8 after EIA inventory data revealed a 54 billion cubic feet injection (bcf) last week, much more than a median estimate of 40bcf.
- Oil erased early gains caused by disruptions from Libya because of a wave of protests and the potential for an EU ban on Russian oil. Brent trades around $107.40 per barrel while WTI trades slightly below $103 per barrel
- Precious metals took a hit amid stronger dollar and surging treasury yields. Gold dropped to $1946.0 while silver fell over 3.0% and is testing $24.50 level
- EUR and USD are the best performing major currencies while AUD and NZD lag the most
- Today we could observe an increased volatility on the markets. Bulls dominated during the European session, but sentiment deteriorated sharply after the hawkish comments of FED members Powell and Dali, who do not rule out a faster pace of monetary tightening. This led to a strengthening of the dollar, an increase in bond yields and lower precious metals prices.
Bitcoin pulled back in the second half of today's session and price reached a major support zone at $41,600. If the upward trend is to continue, the level cannot be negated. Source: xStation5
