Daily Analysis - 05/06/2018
The Australian dollar was one of the biggest decliners amongst the major currencies this morning following the RBA decision to hold rates unchanged. Overall risk sentiment is on and this was evident in the weakness in the safe havens such as gold and the yen. The S&P 500 closed at its highest since mid-March, while oil broke below a key level overnight, trading close to $65 a barrel.
Data today showed the Australian current account deficit was wider than forecast. Meanwhile, the RBA held a policy meeting and announced it kept its main cash rate at 1.5%. There was no significant change to the policy statement by the central bank. The AUD/USD pair reached the $0.76 handle yesterday for the first time since April, gaining as a result of risk appetite in the markets but eased lower post-RBA. Focus turns to tomorrow’s Australian GDP number.
The S&P 500 Index closed at its strongest since mid-March while the Nasdaq Composite Index reached a record high. Stocks in Apple, Amazon, Microsoft all hit new record highs. Twitter jumped 3% as it joined the S&P 500. Tesla will be in focus today as the company holds its annual meeting where CEO Elon Musk will face shareholder votes.
Today’s market focus will be on two major PMI numbers – the U.K. services PMI and the ISM non-manufacturing PMI out of the U.S.
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