During the early trading session, Asian stocks were mostly higher as market spectators looked ahead to Thursday’s Bank of Japan Press Conference. It is expected that further stimulus measures may be introduced. The Hang Seng Index was up 1.33%, Shanghai Composite closed 3.04% higher and the Nikkei share average was slightly down by 0.18%. At the close of the Asian trading session, it was announced that Fitch downgraded Japan’s credit rating to “A” following a review of the government’s fiscal year’s budget. The budget failed to lay out reforms to delay a sales tax increase, it did not approach the level of public debt, decline in growth and the low interest rates. This announcement caused the Dollar to rally as the Yen weakened, the pair is currently trading above 119.
During the European session, the Euro is trading cautiously against the Dollar as traders weigh up the ongoing situation in Greece. The country is yet to reach an agreement with its creditors for a bailout extension, however, developments have been made as officials handed the responsibility of the reforms to Deputy Foreign Minister Euclid Tsakalotus and limited the role of Finance Minister Yaris Varoufakis. If an agreement is not reached in the coming months, then the nation could go into default and may result in the country’s exit from the Eurozone.
During early U.S. trade, the Dollar Index weakened following the release of negative data. The U.S Services PMI for the month of April showed a reading of 57.8, despite the figure indicating improvement, analysts had expected a higher reading of 59.5. American stocks opened higher ahead of the release of Apple earnings, the electronics company is to release their results for the first quarter after the markets close later today. Furthermore, Microsoft shares rallied nearly 3% as the companies earnings beat expectations. Nasdaq is currently 0.39% higher, S&P up 0.27$ and Dow Industrial up 0.33%.
Currency traders are awaiting a number of important releases taking place tomorrow, including, the UK GDP, speech by BoC Gov Poloz, and the U.S. Consumer Confidence.
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