Aust dollar trades above US77c

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The Australian dollar has popped above US77c as a dovish posture from the US central bank continues to rattle the greenback.

At 7am (AEDT) on Thursday, the local unit was trading at US76.69c, up from US76.42c on Wednesday.

The Aussie rose to US77.10c overnight as the greenback extended losses in the aftermath of US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen’s Wednesday address.

Dr Yellen flagged heightened concerns of a global economic slowdown, reducing the chance of near-term rate rises.

Source: businnessspectator

Oil ends 5-session losing streak by a hair

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Oil futures barely managed to put an end to a five session losing streak on Wednesday, as traders weighed support from a fall in weekly U.S. crude production against pressure from a rise in stockpiles.

Crude supplies marked a seventh weekly climb, but the increase came in below some market expectations.

West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery CLK6, +0.05%  tacked on 4 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $38.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after settling at a two-week low on Tuesday. Prices lost nearly 8% over the previous five trading sessions. May Brent crude LCOK6, +0.33%  rose 12 cents, or 0.3%, to $39.26 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.

Early Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 2.3 million-barrel rise in crude-oil supplies to 534.8 million barrels for the week ended March 25. Stockpiles marked a seventh straight weekly climb.

With the supply rise coming in below some expectations, WTI prices rallied to as high as $39.79 a barrel immediately after the report, before paring gains.

Oil prices have rebounded in recent weeks since their lows below $30 a barrel earlier this year on the back of declines in U.S. output and expectations that major producers will agree to supply limits at an April 17 meeting in Qatar. But global oil stockpiles remain near record highs, and U.S. crude inventories are at their highest levels in more than 80 years.

Source: MarketWatch

Hong Kong Shares End Near 3-Month High on Global Rally (review)

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Hong Kong stocks jumped more than 2 percent on Wednesday to a nearly three-month high, as the U.S. Federal Reserve's dovish remarks triggered the market's best performance in nearly a month.

The Hang Seng index rose 2.2 percent, to 20,803.39, while the China Enterprises Index gained 2.9 percent, to 8,979.41 points.

Markets scaled back expectations for how fast and far U.S. interest rates might rise this year, after Fed Chair Janet Yellen emphasised global dangers to growth and inflation, and thus the need to proceed "cautiously" on tightening policy.

All main sectors rose, with energy shares among the best performers.

Index heavyweights including Sinopec and PetroChina rose sharply on reform expectations, traders said.

Source : Reuters

U.S. Stocks Add to Rally Sparked by Dovish Message From Yellen

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U.S. stocks rose, extending to the highest levels this year, as central bankers continued to spur optimism amid assurances that they will act to stave off a global downturn.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed for a third day after yesterday posting the strongest increase in two weeks as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled officials will be cautious in raising rates due to heightened economic risks overseas. The dollar headed for its steepest monthly drop since 2010. Apple Inc. rallied to a three-month high, boosting technology shares, while banks rose for the first time in six days.

The S&P 500 added 0.4 percent to 2,064.04 at 4 p.m. in New York, pushing its 2016 gain to 1 percent.

The S&P 500 has climbed nearly 13 percent from a 22-month low on Feb. 11, as crude prices rebounded from their lowest in 12 years and central bankers from Europe to Japan and the U.S. signaled they will continue efforts to support growth, calming concerns about a slowdown in the global economy. The gauge has erased its 2016 decline and is heading for a second quarterly advance. It has risen 6.8 percent in March, set for the best month since October.

Traders are pricing in no possibility of an April rate boost following Yellen’s comments, while the chances for a June increase have fallen to 20 percent from 46 percent a week ago. December is now the first month with at least even odds of higher borrowing costs. Despite those signals from the market, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said today the economy will probably be strong enough to justify two increases in 2016.

Source: Bloomberg

Wall Street gains powered by Yellen, oil one-two punch

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U.S. stocks were poised for a third session of gains on Wednesday as dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, on top of stronger oil, lifted the main indexes.

Speaking at the Economic Club of New York, Yellen stressed a need for a cautious stance on interest-rate increases. The remarks follow a shift in the Fed’s outlook since late last year, as the central bank cut its forecast of rate hikes to two from a prior projection of four.

The S&P 500 added 10 points, or 0.5%, to 2,065, with nine of its 10 main sectors trading higher. Financial stocks led the gains, while utilities was the sole laggard.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 98 points, or 0.6%, to 17,731 with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. leading the winners.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 24 points, or 0.5%, to 4,871.

In economic news, the private sector added 200,000 jobs in March, according to ADP, a modest deceleration from the prior month’s revised 205,000 and roughly in line with expectations.

Source: marketwatch