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Asian equity markets are clinging to modest gains, this is following a less than inspirational handover from Wall Street as US investors hit the sell button into the close as banking contagion concerns resurfaced, as First Republic Bank shed another 50% of its already decimated share price as the beleaguered bank confirmed it is considering a $100 billion in asset sales to sure up its liquidity position, the late sell-off in US markets found some support after the close of New York trading as robust earnings from Microsoft and Google saw US futures markets recover some of the late losses. 

UK investors will focus on the CBI distributive trades survey for April this morning after last month’s report pointed to a modest uptick in optimism among retailers who anticipated a potential lift in new orders, markets will be looking for a continuation in this narrative, especially given last weeks GFK survey which printed a 12 month high in consumer confidence albeit form historically depressed levels.

Once again the Eurozone data docket has no tier one releases scheduled this morning, investor focus will shift Stateside with MBA mortgage applications set to give another indication as to whether there is a plateau in the US housing market. US durable goods orders and the goods trade balance for March are set for release later today, these updates come ahead of tomorrow’s first look at  Q1 GDP. Markets are looking for durable goods to nudge higher to 0.7/1% after a disappointing 1% drop seen in February's reading. The goods deficit should show a slight improvement from around $90bn to $92bn in February. Markets are currently pricing for a US economy that should deliver a circa 2% increase in activity on an annualized basis, principally driven by an initial bout of consumer activity at the start of the year, while it appears this strength may have dissipated somewhat into the second quarter. 

Investors will parse Facebook parent Meta’s earnings after the close in New York as they look to see if they are keeping up with fellow tech giants Microsoft and Google's upbeat performance, as the race for AI dominance and cost-cutting savings should remain front center in the case for claiming shareholder support.
 

FX Options Expiries For 10 am New York Cut 

(In bold represent larger expiries, more magnetic when trading within daily ATR)

• A massive 40-billion between 1.09-1.11 expire through month end
• EUR/USD: 1.0900 (2.6BLN), 1.0925-40 (2.6BLN), 1.0950 (2.5BLN)
• 1.0955-60 (1.7BLN), 1.0970-75(1.4BLN), 1.1000 (1.5BLN), 1.1030-45 (2.1BLN)
• USD/CHF: 0.8925 (610M), 0.8990-0.9000 (800M)
• GBP/USD: 1.2350 (487M), 1.2400-10 (718M)
• AUD/USD: 0.6625-30 (589M), 0.6650-60 (1.2BLN), 0.6700 (839M)
• USD/JPY: 133.00 (584M), 133.40-50 (839M), 134.00 (397M), 134.40-50 (500M)
   

CFTC Data As Of 21/04/23

• USD net spec long pared slightly in Apr 12-18 period, $IDX -0.38%
• USD offered amid speculation Fed nearing end of hike cycle
• EUR$ +0.55% in period, specs +1,023 contracts now long 164,361
• $JPY +0.3% in period specs +338 contracts, now short 56,869
• GBP$ -0.04% in period, specs +3,700 contracts, flips to +1,302
• $CAD -0.56% specs +10,346 contracts, now short 46,233
• BTC +0.77% in period specs +633 contracts, short cut to 489 (Source RTRS)
   

Overnight News of Note

• First Republic Bank To Weigh Up To $100 Billion In Asset Sales
• Fed To Publish Review Of Silicon Valley Bank Supervision April 28
• ECB’s Vujcic: ECB Has ‘No Choice’ But To Raise Rates Further
• Brussels Set To Rebuff German Calls For Tougher Debt-Reduction Targets
• BoJ's Ueda Sees Tough Balance In Combating Cost-Push Inflation
• Australia’s Core Inflation Cools, Vindicating RBA’s Rate Pause
• Dollar, Yen Buoyed As Bank Sector Fears Put Havens Back In Vogue
• Oil Holds Drop As Demand Weakness Spurs Talk Of Refinery Cuts
• Asia Stocks Set For One-Month Low And US Futures Rise
• Alphabet Shares Rise On Revenue Beat As Ad Sales Recover
• Microsoft Profit, Sales Top Estimates On Strong Cloud Demand
• Texas Instruments Investors Upbeat In Face Of Slow Recovery
• Visa Posts Jump In Quarterly Profit On Higher Transactions
• Quants Are ‘Out Of Ammo’ For Buying Stocks, Goldman Warns
• Alibaba Cutting Cloud Prices As Much As 50% To Drive User Growth

(Sourced from Bloomberg, Reuters and other reliable financial news outlets)
 

Technical & Trade Views

SP500 Bias: Intraday Bullish Above Bearish Below 4115

• Primary support is 4000
• Primary objective is 4207
• Below 3985 opens 3950
• 20 Day VWAP bullish, 5 Day VWAP bearish

(Click on image to enlarge)

EURUSD Bias: Intraday Bullish Above Bearish below 1.0990

• Primary support  is 1.07
• Primary objective is 1.1128
• Below 1.0700 opens 1.0660
• 20 Day VWAP bullish, 5 Day VWAP bearish

(Click on image to enlarge)

GBPUSD Bias: Intraday Bullish Above Bearish below 1.2410

• Primary support  is 1.2250
• Primary objective 1.2659
• Below 1.22 opens 1.2010
• 20 Day VWAP bullish, 5 Day VWAP bullish

(Click on image to enlarge)

USDJPY Bias: Intraday Bullish above Bearish Below 133.00

• Primary resistance  is 135.15
• Primary objective is 129.15
• Above 136 opens 137.90
• 20 Day VWAP bearish, 5 Day VWAP bullish

(Click on image to enlarge)

AUDUSD Bias: Intraday Bullish Above Bearish below .6685

• Primary resistance  is .6750
• Primary objective is .6565
• Above .6775 opens .6825
• 20 Day VWAP bearish, 5 Day VWAP bearish

(Click on image to enlarge)

BTCUSD Intraday Bias: Bullish Above Bearish below 28400

• Primary support 26500
• Primary objective is 30500
• Below 26300 opens 25800
• 20 Day VWAP bullish, 5 Day VWAP bullish

(Click on image to enlarge)

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