Australian Dollar Slides As Equities Pare Early Gains
The Australian dollar declined on Tuesday morning in Asia as the local stocks pared the gains it made in early trading, thus curbing traders’ risk appetite and prompted them toward safe-haven assets.
The Australian stock market that moved higher in early trades on Tuesday pared its gains shortly on profit taking and is currently trading lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose to 4,763.9 in early deals, is currently trading At 4,701, losing 17 Points, Or 0.35%. The broader All Ordinaries index is presently down 14 Points, Or 0.30%, To 4,725.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, Singapore and South Korea are trading weak, while the New Zealand market is trading notably higher.
In economic news, the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index for Australia increased by 0.3 percent in September. The private sector group also said its Coincident index advanced 0.1 percent for the month.
The Australian dollar drifted lower to 81.79 against the Japanese yen around 9:00 pm ET, compared to 82.23 hit late New York Monday. In near-term, support is likely to be seen around the 81.6 level for the aussie. The aussie-yen pair is presently quoted at 81.96.
In Japan, the Central Bank will release its monthly report, while supermarket sales for October, which showed a 2.4 percent decline on year in September, are also due out.
Against the European currency, the Aussie edged lower to 1.6241 by 9:00 pm ET and this may be compared to Monday’s North American session closing value of 1.6199. If the Australian currency weakens further, it may find near-term support level at 1.627. The euro-aussie pair is presently worth 1.623.
In the euro-area, a flurry of economic reports to be released in the upcoming session, are likely to influence markets today.
German final third quarter GDP report will be released at 2:00 am ET, which is expected to be as same as in the preliminary reading. Also, the German government’s third quarter imports and exports data are due out at the same time.
The French business confidence indicator for November and consumer spending for October are slated for release at 2:45 am ET.
German IFO business climate index for November will be released at 4:00 am ET. The index is expected to be at 92.5 compared to 91.9 last month. The Eurozone September industrial orders will be released at 5:00 am ET, which are expected at 1.0% compared to 2.2% last month.
On the contrary, the Australian dollar advanced to 1.2668 against the New Zealand dollar around 9:00 pm ET due to across the board weakening of the latter. The aussie-kiwi pair, which closed Monday’s North American trading at 1.2622, is presently worth 1.266 with 1.268 seen as the next target level.
The Australian dollar slipped to 0.9205 against the US dollar by 9:00 pm ET, compared to Monday’s New York session closing value of 0.9241. The aussie-buck pair is presently worth 0.9215 with 0.918 seen as the next target level.
Looking forward to the North American session, the Bureau of Economic Analysis is due to release its third quarter GDP report at 8:30 AM ET. The report is likely to show that the U.S. economy grew a slower pace of 2.9% in the quarter.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which tracks monthly changes in the value of residential real estate in 20 metropolitan regions across the U.S., is scheduled to be released at 9:00 AM ET. Economists expect a 9.2% year-over-year decline in the 20-city composite house price index in September.
The Conference Board is scheduled to release its consumer confidence report at 10:00 am ET. The survey, which is based on a survey of 5,000 US households, is expected to show that the consumer confidence index to be at 47.5 in November.
Also, the US House Price Index for September and Richmond Fed’s manufacturing index for November are due out at the same time.
