Commodity currencies are generally higher as rebound in oil and stocks extended. WTI crude oil rose to as high as 33.45 before retreating mildly. DJIA closed at 16620.66, up 228.67 pts or 1.4%, above key near term resistance at 16593.51 and 55 days EMA. Risk sentiments are at a juncture today and a major focus today is on whether DJIA could extend the rebound to confirm near term reversal. In Asia, Nikkei reversed earlier gains and closed down -59 pts or 0.37%. China SSE (L:SSE) is trading down -43 pts or -1.5% at the time of writing. Elsewhere in the currency markets, Sterling leads European majors lower on Brexit worries while dollar and yen are mixed.
BoJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda told parliament today that "it's not that the monetary base alone will pull up inflation or inflation expectations promptly." And, BoJ aimed to "raise prices through an increase in inflation expectations and a tighter gap in supply and demand under QQE." Some economists noted that as a shift in tone of Kuroda and he became less confident on achieving the inflation target on monetary base expansion alone.
On the data front, Germany will release Q4 GDP final today but main focus will be on Ifo business climate. US will release S&P Case-Shiller 20 cities house price, existing home sales and consumer confidence.