19-03-2024 at 07:40
NZ Dollar Slides to 6-Week Lows

The New Zealand dollar depreciated to around $0.605, sliding to its lowest levels in six weeks and tracking a decline in the Australian dollar as the Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates steady in a widely expected move, but dropped a previous warning that a further hike could not be ruled out. The kiwi also came under pressure ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week amid concerns that strong US inflation could delay Fed rate cuts. Domestically, markets are betting that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand could start easing policy in August amid moderating price increases. Investors now look ahead to the country’s gross domestic product report later this week for further guidance.

19-03-2024 at 06:30
Crypto currencies falling on Tuesday

Bitcoin and Ether are experiencing declines. Ether has slipped 4.10%. Bitcoin is down 3.69%.

19-03-2024 at 06:15
FX Updates: Japanese Yen Depreciates by 0.70%

Top currency losers are Japanese Yen (-0.70%), Australian Dollar (-0.52%) and New Zealand Dollar (-0.36%). Gains are led by Dollar Index (0.30%). In addition, there was a slight change on British Pound (-0.08%) and Euro (-0.02%).

19-03-2024 at 05:59
Australia 10-Year Yield Drops After RBA Decision

Australia’s 10-year government bond yield dropped to around 4.1%, retreating sharply from over two-week highs as the Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates steady in a widely expected move, but came across less hawkish compared to previous announcements. The RBA kept rates at a 12-year high of 4.35%, standing pat for the third consecutive meeting. However, the central bank dropped a previous warning that a further hike could not be ruled out, suggesting confidence that inflation would continue to ease and bolstering bets that it could start cutting rates later this year. Markets are pricing in a first rate cut in August, forecasting about 40 basis points of total easing for this year.

19-03-2024 at 05:55
JGB Yields Fall Despite BOJ Policy Shift

Japan’s 10-year government bond yield fell to around 0.73% while the 2-year yield dropped below 0.18%, with JGB yields retreating sharply from recent highs even after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates from -0.1% to 0%, hiking for the first time since 2007 and ending eight years of negative rates amid rising wages and high inflation. The central bank also abandoned its yield curve control policy, no longer targeting 10-year bond yields. Moreover, the board agreed to end ETF and J-REIT purchases and to gradually reduce buying of commercial paper and corporate bonds, planning to discontinue bond purchases entirely in about a year. Analysts suggested that the move had already been priced in by the markets and was long overdue, leading to a decline in JGB yields.

19-03-2024 at 05:52
New Zealand Shares Up 0.8% at Finish

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed 0.77% to close at 11817.91 on Tuesday, following a positive lead from Wall Street overnight, ahead of the Federal Reserve rate decision. The US central bank will likely keep rates unchanged during its policy meeting on Wednesday, with investors expecting rate cuts to begin by June or July. Meanwhile, Australia kept interest rates steady and Japan ended its eight years of negative interest rates, heralding the first rate hike in 17 years. Distribution services, process industries, consumer services, and utility firms led the market higher. On the corporate front, the largest gains came from Scales Corp. (4.4%), followed by heavyweights Meridian Energy (3.5%), Mainfreight LTD (1.8%), Contact Energy (2.3%), and The A2 Milk (1.9%). New Zealand’s GDP data for Q4 of 2023 will be released on Wednesday, indicating how the economy is traveling.

19-03-2024 at 05:51
Gold Muted as Fed Meeting Looms

Gold was subdued around $2,160 an ounce on Tuesday as investors avoided making big bets ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision this week. The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday and traders have been scaling back bets on a June rate cut due to strong inflation data. In Asia, the Bank of Japan ended its negative rate policy and abandoned yield curve control amid rising wages and high inflation. The BOJ also stopped ETF and J-REIT purchases and plans to gradually reduce corporate bond buying. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia held rates steady as widely expected, but dropped a previous warning that a further hike could not be ruled out, suggesting confidence that inflation would continue to ease and bolstering bets that it could start cutting rates later this year.

19-03-2024 at 05:49
Japan Industrial Output Falls Less than Initially Thought

Industrial production in Japan declined by 6.7% month-over-month in January 2024, compared with the flash figure of a 7.5% drop and following a downwardly revised 1.2% rise a month earlier. It was the steepest decrease in industrial output since May 2020, mainly dragged down by motor vehicles (-15.9% vs 0.3% in December), general-purpose and business-oriented machinery (-10.8% vs 6.4%), and electrical machinery, and information and communication electronics equipment (-7.6% vs 2.1%). Yearly, industrial output fell by 1.5% in January, the third straight month of contraction, after a 1.1% drop in December.

19-03-2024 at 05:31
Australian Dollar Weakens After RBA Decision

The Australian dollar weakened toward $0.65 on Tuesday, falling to its lowest levels in about two weeks as the Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates steady in a widely expected move, but came across less hawkish compared to previous announcements. The RBA kept rates at a 12-year high of 4.35%, standing pat for the third consecutive meeting. However, the central bank dropped a previous warning that a further hike could not be ruled out, suggesting confidence that inflation would continue to ease and bolstering bets that it could start cutting rates later this year. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan ended its negative rate policy and abandoned its yield curve control. Investors now look ahead to the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision later this week for further guidance.

19-03-2024 at 05:09
Japanese Yen Falls Despite BOJ Policy Shift

The Japanese yen depreciated past 150 per dollar on Tuesday, sliding to its weakest levels in about two weeks even after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates from -0.1% to 0%, hiking for the first time since 2007 and ending eight years of negative rates amid rising wages and high inflation. The central bank also abandoned its yield curve control policy, no longer targeting 10-year bond yields. Moreover, the board agreed to end ETF and J-REIT purchases and to gradually reduce buying of commercial paper and corporate bonds, planning to discontinue bond purchases entirely in about a year. Meanwhile, analysts suggested that the yen weakened further after the decision as the move had already been priced in by the markets and was long overdue. Investors now look ahead to the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision later this week for further guidance.

19-03-2024 at 04:54
Japan Ends Negative Rates, Scraps Yield Curve Control

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised its key short-term interest rate to around 0% to 0.1% from -0.1% during its March meeting, matching market expectations and halting its eight years of negative interest rates. Tuesday's decision also marked the first interest rate hike since 2007, as inflation had exceeded the central bank's 2% target in over a year while the largest companies in the country had agreed to raise salaries by 5.28%, the biggest wage hike in over 3 decades. Two of the BoJ’s nine board members, Toyoaki Nakamura and Asahi Noguchi, dissented. The central bank also terminated yield curve control for 10-year government bonds and discontinued the purchases of ETF and Japan real estate investment trusts (J-REITS). Further, it will slowly reduce its pace of corporate bond buying before fully stopping it in about a year. Still, the bank added in a statement that in case of a rapid rise in long-term rates, it would make nimble responses, such as increasing the amount of JGB purchases.

19-03-2024 at 04:32
Australia Holds Cash Rate at 4.35%

The Reserve Bank of Australia maintained its cash rates at 4.35% during its March meeting, as widely expected. Tuesday's move came amid signs that economic growth has slowed following a total of 425bps rate hike over the past two years. Meanwhile, inflation continued to ease amid moderation in goods prices. The cost of services stayed elevated, with a more gradual pace of easing. The board said its highest priority was returning inflation to target within a reasonable timeframe, adding that it needed to be sure that prices are moving towards the 2–3% range in 2025 and the midpoint in 2026. The central viewed that the interest rate path remained uncertain as it did not rule anything in or out, and relied upon the data and the assessment of risks. The committee reiterated that it will closely monitor the global economy, trends in domestic demand, and the outlook for inflation and the labor market. The board also kept the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances unchanged at 4.25%.

19-03-2024 at 03:57
Dollar Firms Up Ahead of Fed Meeting

The dollar index held above 103.5 on Tuesday, hovering at its highest levels in almost two weeks as investors dialed back bets on early interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve due to strong US inflation data. The US central bank is widely anticipated to hold rates steady this week, while traders will focus on hints about the timing and scale of an expected easing cycle from the Fed this year. Last week, data showed that US producer prices rose more than expected in February both on a monthly and an annual basis. That followed previous data showing US consumer prices came in hotter-than-anticipated last month. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan ended its negative rate policy and abandoned yield curve controls on Tuesday, while the Reserve Bank of Australia held rates steady but dropped a previous warning that a further hike could not be ruled out.

19-03-2024 at 03:39
China Stocks Struggle for Direction

The Shanghai Composite shed 0.05% to around 3,084 while the Shenzhen Component was flat at 9,753 on Tuesday, with mainland stocks struggling for clear direction as investors cautious awaited monetary policy decisions from major central banks this week. On Monday, Chinese stocks gained as data showed that retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment in China rose more than expected in the first two months of the year. Meanwhile, the urban unemployment rate rose to 5.3% in February from 5.2% in January, the highest in seven months. Notable gains were seen from heavyweight firms such as Luxshare Precision (5.1%), Zhejiang Wanfeng (6%) and Wuliangye Yibin (3.2%), while losses were seen from Wuxi Apptec (-3.7%), Zhongji Innolight (-3.3%) and ChongQing Changan (-2.3%).

19-03-2024 at 03:30
Bonds Update: South Korea 10Y Bond Yield Rises by 4 bps

Government bond yields are trading higher on Tuesday. Top gainers are South Korea 10Y (3.70bps), Australia 10Y (1.10bps) and New Zealand 10Y (1bps). Biggest losers are US 10Y (-1.10bps) and United Kingdom 10Y (-0.30bps).

19-03-2024 at 03:19
Hong Kong Shares Move in the Red

Equities in Hong Kong lost 72 points or 0.42% to 16,668 on Tuesday morning deals following small gains in the prior session, with a modest pullback in US futures rattling sentiment after Wall Street rebounded Monday ahead of major central-bank rate decisions this week, including the Bank of Japan and the US Fed. Traders were also on edge amid anticipation of the March fixing of key lending rates from the PBoC over the next few days after it delivered a cut of the five-year loan prime rate in February but maintained the medium-term lending facility rate last week. On fresh data, industrial output in the mainland rose more than expected in the first two months of 2024 amid weaker-than-expected retail sales and a rise in the jobless rate that underscored the Chinese economy remained under pressure. Most sectors retreated, with Heavyweight Tencent Hlds. down 0.2%. Other underperforming stocks were WuxiAppTec (-7.3%), Li Auto (-7.2%), and ENN Energy Hlds. (-3.7%), and AIA Group (-2.4%).

19-03-2024 at 03:13
Oil Hovers Near Multi-Month Highs

WTI crude futures held above $82 per barrel on Tuesday, hovering near its highest levels since early November as supply-side concerns continued to support oil prices. Analysts pointed to Ukraine’s drone strikes on three Russian oil refineries over the weekend which account for at least 10% of Russia’s total oil processing capacity. In the Middle East, Iraq announced that it would reduce its crude exports to 3.3 million bpd in the coming months to compensate for exceeding its OPEC+ quota since January. Saudi Arabia also saw its crude exports decline for the second straight month, falling to 6.297 million bpd in January vs 6.308 million bpd in December. On the demand side, investors cheered robust industrial production and retail sales figures in top crude importer China, as well as a solid global oil demand outlook for this year.

19-03-2024 at 02:26
South Korean Shares Drop Ahead of US Fed Meeting

The benchmark KOSPI dropped 0.9% to around 2,661 points in early trade on Tuesday, undoing the advances made in the previous session, as investors locked in profits ahead of the US Federal Reserve policy meeting later this week. Markets expect that the US Fed will maintain its key rate at the current level for a fifth consecutive meeting amid a still-strong labor market and a gradual easing of inflationary pressures. Investors will also be looking for further clues on the potential timing of rate cuts. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan will also hold a policy meeting this week, in which it is speculated that the BOJ might decide to exit its negative interest rate policy. Most index heavyweights posted losses, such as Samsung Electronics (-1.1%), SK Hynix (-3.2%), LG Energy Solution (-1.2%), Samsung Biologics (-0.8%), Hyundai Motors (-1.4%), and Kia Corp (-6.3%).

19-03-2024 at 01:32
Japanese Shares Ease Ahead of BOJ Decision

The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.6% to around 39,500 on Tuesday, giving back some gains from the previous session as investors geared up for the Bank of Japan’s policy decision later today. Markets are speculating that the BOJ could decide to exit its negative interest rate policy today due to rising wages, high inflation and a stable economy. Investors also cautiously awaited policy decisions from other major central banks this week for clues on the timing of rate cuts, especially from the US Federal Reserve. Notable losses were seen from index heavyweights such as Tokyo Electron (-0.5%), Tokyo Electric Power (-1%), Advantest (-2.1%), SoftBank Group (-0.5%), Kawasaki Kisen (-0.7%) and Sony Group (-0.4%).

19-03-2024 at 01:10
South Korean Won Hits 4-week Low

USDKRW increased to a 4-week high of 1338.00. Over the past 4 weeks, US Dollar South Korean Won gained 0.28%, and in the last 12 months, it increased 2.54%.

1 2 3 4 5

Live Forex News are published 24 hours from Monday to Friday. They are practically available in real time, and since they are brief financial
information from around the world you can rest assured that you will be keeping track of all the most important news from the Forex and Stocks.