0815hrs UK US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks in Zurich
0830hrs UK UK Halifax House Price Index (est -0.33%mom / 2.97% 3mmths-yr vs previous 1.5% / 2.7%
0930hrs UK SW Riksbank Deputy Governor Per Jansson speaks in Stockholm
1500hrs UK EU ECB Governing Council Member Erkki Liikanen speaks in Helsinki

US earnings releases today include Valeant Pharma, TripAdvisor, Electronic Arts, Occidental Petroleum, Monster Beverage, Walt Disney, and Marriott Int’l

The Day So Far….

STOCKS: Wall Street climbed yesterday boosted by Apple’s sixth day of gains and by a surge in oil prices to their highest level since 2014. The S&P Energy Index surrendered strong gains to close 0.18% better, the gains tempered by President Trump’s tweet that he would announce a decision on the Iranian nuclear deal today. The S&P closed 9.21 points higher at 2672.63, the Dow ended 94.81 points to the good at 24357.32, and the Nasdaq100 boosted by Apple finished 52.758 points higher at 6821.874

Asia-Pacific indices moved higher, despite question marks hanging over the future of the Iranian nuclear accord, with US President Trump set to make an announcement regarding the matter later today. The Nikkei 225 added 0.44% in the early session as the financial & health care sectors led the way higher, while the energy sector dragged. Gains were tempered in the afternoon but were rallying into the close. The Hang Seng quickly added 1.25% with IT lodging the largest gain on a sectoral basis, as all of the major sectors moved higher and pushed on from there steadily to show gains of over 400 points (last seen). China's Shanghai Composite followed the pattern with a steady climb over the morning session before trading sideways in the afternoon. Australia's ASX 200 added just 7.425 points as health care lead the sector break down, while energy related stocks weighed. Financials drove early gains but the gains were all but eroded as investors looked to the upcoming Federal Budget and Trump’s comments on Iran

US TSYS: T-Notes have operated in a 2 tick range thus far, with little in the way of major news flow. - Fed non-voter Kaplan was the latest to stress the symmetrical nature of the Fed's inflation target, and reiterated that he is the 3 hikes in total for 2018 camp, advocating the need for the gradual removal of monetary accommodation. - The white & red Eurodollar contracts are trading unchanged to a tick lower.

OIL: Oil backed off in front of US President Trump's impending decision on the Iranian nuclear accord, which is due on Tuesday, with both of the major contracts trading around 50c lower. It is worth noting that a report from the NYT suggested that "EU leaders have been unable to convince Trump on the Iran deal", while an earlier NYT report noted that it "was unclear whether he would moderate that move, perhaps by allowing the European nations to move ahead with their economic relations with Tehran without being penalized by the United States." - Traders also await Tuesday's weekly API crude inventory estimates.

GOLD: Gold edged lower in Asia-Pacific dealing shedding $3 to trade at $1311/oz.

FOREX: Modest USD weakness crept into early Asia-Pacific dealing as USDJPY traded sub 109.00, with nothing in the way of headline catalysts. Some pointed to Tuesday's decision from US President Trump re: the Iran nuclear deal, with many expecting him to scrap the deal. Since the middle of the session AUD has been on the back foot following the softer than expected Australian retail sales data, which led to broader USD strength, as CAD underperformed with oil pulling back & USDJPY topped 109.00 again. NZD has dipped following a softer RBNZ inflation exp. survey, although this week's RBNZ MonPol decision will garner more attention. - EURUSD & GBPUSD have followed the broader USD tone. The latest round of Brexit headlines note that UK PM May is set to delay her decision re: her preferred choice of customs partnership. Focus on Tuesday will fall on comments from Fed Chair Powell.

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Отдел аналитики

08.05.2018