During the Asian session, the ANZ Business Outlook Survey will be released in New Zealand and the Import/Export Price Index in Australia. Markets are awaiting economic data from the Eurozone and the United States, ahead of the central bank meetings.
Here’s what you need to know on Thursday, April 27:
Wall Street fell again on Thursday amid banking concerns and a bleak outlook. First Republic Bank fell again. Investors are still digesting the latest earnings results. Earnings season continues Thursday with Amazon, Mastercard, Merck, T-Mobile, Intel, Honeywell, Activision Blizzard, American Airlines and Hertz.
On Thursday, the US will report the first estimate of first-quarter GDP growth, which includes the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, a closely watched measure of inflation by Fed officials. Wells Fargo analysts warn that growth figures could be well below consensus.
A review of past retail sales data released this week could turn the tables. If our interpretation of the latest revisions is correct, real GDP growth for the first quarter of 2023, to be reported on Thursday morning, could be half the consensus forecast growth rate.
Other US data due for release on Thursday include jobless claims, Kansas Fed manufacturing activity and pending home sales. However, these figures could be offset by inflation and growth figures ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting. A final rate hike of 25 basis points is expected.
The Dollar Index fell 0.40% on Wednesday and ended far from lows. While the dollar hit fresh 13-month lows against the euro, it hit monthly highs against the Aussie and the Kiwi. Commodity currencies were affected by risk sentiment. Next week, the Fed will release its monetary policy. Markets are expecting a final rate hike of 25 basis points, but expectations have eased somewhat after renewed concerns from banks. US consumer inflation will be key to the Fed’s forecasts.
The euro it outperformed on Wednesday, against a backdrop of increasing (still low) odds of a 50 basis point rate hike by the European Central Bank next week. Germany, Spain and France will release inflation data on Friday, along with first-quarter GDP for the euro zone. The EUR/USD pair rallied as high as 1.1094, hitting the highest intraday level since March 2022, and then pulled back to pare gains.
The USD/JPY pair ended flat around 133.60, in an environment of relatively stable bond yields and a mixed dollar. The two-day monetary policy meeting at the Bank of Japan begins on Thursday, the first under Kazuo Ueda. No changes are expected.
Inflation slowed further during the first quarter in Australia, reinforcing the idea that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will be on hold next week. The AUD/USD pair fell again, hitting monthly lows below 0.6600. The NZD/USD pair continued to inched towards 0.6100 and the March lows. The ANZ survey on business prospects will be published on Thursday. USD/CAD rose slightly, holding above 1.3600.
The metals remained sideways. Gold ended lower at $1,988 after reaching a weekly high of $2,009, while Silver fell below $25.00. Crude Oil prices lost more than 3%; the WTI fell to $74.50, erasing April’s gains.
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Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
