Headlines:Markets:JPY leads, EUR lags on the dayEuropean equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.6%US 10-year yields up 2 bps to 3.703%Gold up 0.2%
Headlines:
Markets:
- JPY leads, EUR lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.6%
- US 10-year yields up 2 bps to 3.703%
- Gold up 0.2% to $1,864.63
- WTI crude up 2.2% to $79.77
- Bitcoin down 0.5% to $21,753
The BOJ Valentine’s Day surprise was spoiled as reports surfaced that the Japanese government is set to nominate former BOJ policymaker, Kazuo Ueda, as the next governor of the central bank. That came after incumbent deputy governor, Masayoshi Amamiya, was said to have “firmly rejected” the offer.
That sent the yen shooting higher, with USD/JPY falling from 131.55 through to a low of 129.80 during the session. The local media took it on themselves to seek out comments from Ueda and he said that the current BOJ monetary policy is “appropriate”. That helped to arrest the gains in the yen with USD/JPY bouncing back to around 131.00.
It was all about the headlines in Europe today with Russia also surprising markets as they independently decided to cut oil production by 500k bpd in March. That sent oil prices ripping higher with WTI crude briefly holding above $80 before trading just under that, but still up over 2% on the day.
That aside, the dollar was largely steadier with broader market sentiment staying more on the defensive side. EUR/USD is seen slipping by 0.4% to just below 1.0700 and GBP/USD is also down 0.2% to just below 1.2100 on the day.
Equities are being pressured with European indices seeing over 1% losses and US futures also down, with tech leading the downside. S&P 500 futures are lower by 0.6% with Nasdaq futures down 1.0% at the moment.
The UMich consumer sentiment survey will be one to watch next in US trading before the weekend comes along.
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