XE Morning Update - April 24 2019

NZDUSD 0.6656 -0.3%
NZDEUR 0.5926 -0.1%
NZDGBP 0.5141 0.0%
NZDJPY 74.37 -0.5%
NZDAUD 0.9375 0.2%
NZDCAD 0.8941 0.4%
GBPNZD 1.9451 0.0%

The NZDUSD opens at 0.6656 (mid-rate) this morning.

US equity markets are approaching record highs as quarterly earnings reports continue to exceed analysts’ expectations. Close to 80% of S&P 500 companies that have announced their first quarter results have reported greater profits than estimated by market analysts.

Positive trade talk comments from Trump’s top economic adviser Larry Kudlow are also adding to equity market strength. Earlier this morning Mr Kudlow said the US and China were making good progress in trade negotiations and he was "cautiously optimistic" about the prospects for striking a deal. In response to questions from reporters Kudlow said "we're not there yet, but we've made a heck of a lot of progress."

Broad USD strength has dominated currency markets overnight with the dollar benefitting from a Commerce Department report showing new home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly jumped to their highest level in more than 12mths in the month of March. The report showed new home sales spiked up by 4.5% to an annual rate of 692k in March after soaring by 5.9% to a revised rate of 662k in February. The result surprised economists who had expected new home sales to fall by 2.5% to a rate of 650k from the 667k originally reported for February.

The highlight of our trading day will be Australia’s quarterly CPI data report due for release early this afternoon. Market expectations are for Q1 CPI to increase by 0.2% on the quarter following on from Q4’s 0.5% increase. Price action overnight would suggest traders are positioning their books for a weaker result.

Of note with Japan celebrating Golden Week from the 27th April through to the 6th May the last payment day for JPY will be Friday 26th April

Global equity markets are broadly higher, - Dow +0.55%, S&P 500 +0.90%, FTSE +0.86%, DAX +0.11%, CAC +0.20%, Nikkei +0.19%, Shanghai -0.51%.

Gold prices are marginally lower, down 0.4% trading at $1,270 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices continue to push higher, up 1.0% trading at $66.23 a barrel.

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