US equities closed mildly higher after initial selloff overnight. S&P 500 indeed reached as low as 1871.91, inch above key near term support level of August low of 1867.01. Dollar, on the other hand, is struggling in tight range. The dollar index, while a bit softer this week, is still holding above near term support of 95.48 and another rise is mildly in favor. Some more volatility could be seen in the forex markets as a number of key economic data from US will be released starting today. That includes ADP employment today, ISM manufacturing tomorrow and non-farm payroll on Friday. Also, Fed chair Janet Yellen's speech today will be closely watched.
In Eurozone, Bundesbank head said that "worries about deflation, which were then exaggerated, have further dissipated." He also urged to " look through the energy price-induced inflation fluctuations, because they are temporary and they increase purchasing power and thereby strengthen the economy anyway." Nonetheless, he also emphasized that "normalization of monetary policy in the eurozone is currently not on the agenda," on moderate economic outlook and subdued inflation.
Released earlier today, industrial production in Japan dropped -0.5% in August, compared with consensus of a 1.1% increase and a -0.8% drop in July. Retail trade rose 0.8% in August, down from an upwardly revised 1.8% gain in July and market expectations of a 1.3% gain. In Asia-Pacific, building permits in New Zealand contracted -4.9% in August, from a downwardly revised 20.3% increase a month ago. On a positive note, the country's NBNZ business confidence improved to -18.9 in September, from -29.1 in the prior month. Australia's building approvals declined -6.9% in August after an upwardly revised 7.9% increase in July. The market had anticipated a milder contraction of -1.9%.
For the rest of the day, the Eurozone would release its employment report with unemployment rate expected to stay at 10.9% in August. For Germany alone, the number of unemployment probably dropped -5K in September, compared with a -7K decline in August. In the US, the focus is on the ADP employment report. The market anticipates that payrolls increased 185K in September, compared with a 190K addition in the prior month.