Market Update by Solidecn.com

[Solid ECN]

Oil

Publication of report from the US Department of Energy caused some moves on the oil market. Crude inventories jumped unexpectedly while gasoline and distillate stockpiles dropped more than expected.

• Oil inventories: +1.117mb vs -1.565 mb expected (API: +3.262 mb)
• Gasoline inventories: -6.4 mb vs -1.677 mb (API: -1.09 mb)
• Distillate inventories: -3.313 mb vs -1.5 mb (API: -1.84 mb)
• Oil inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma: - 1.063 million barrels vs -1.558 million barrels previously

WTI Crude Oil (OIL.WTI) price bounced off local upward trendline and is testing resistance at $70.15.

[Solid ECN]

EURUSD

The most popular currency moved higher on Wednesday morning following a set of hawkish comments from ECB President Lagarde. In her opinion policymakers are neither committed to raise further nor are yet finished with hiking rates. ECB does not see clear evidence that underlying inflation is trending downwards. The underlying inflation dynamics remain strong. Lagarde emphasized that the ECB is ready to act and provide liquidity support.



EURUSD jumped above major resistance at 1.0765 following Lagarde comments, which paves the way towards net key resistance at 1.0900. This level coincides with 50.0% Fibonacci retracement of the downward wave started in June 2021.

[Solid ECN]

JAP225

• US indices finished yesterday's session higher amid expectations that the Fed will tighten policy less aggressively in the evening. S&P 500 added 1.30%, Dow Jones moved 0.98% higher and Nasdaq rose 1.58%. Russell outperformed and managed to finish 1.88% higher
• Indices from Asia-Pacific traded higher today - Nikkei jumped 1.94%, S&P/ASX 200 moved 0.87% higher while Kospi and Nifty 50 rose 1.12% and 0.20% respectively
• Indices from China traded 0.2-0.45% higher
• DAX futures point to a lower opening of today's European cash session
• ECB's Nagel said that policymakers have to be "even more stubborn" in inflation fight. In his opinion Eurozone banking system is resilient, not facing repeat of 2008
• First Republic Bank could potentially receive government backing, according to Bloomberg
• API report pointed to a 3.262 million barrel build in US oil inventories (exp. -1.448 mb)
• RBC analysts believe that OPEC would intervene if oil prices dropped substantially.
• Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Novak said that the country's current curtailed level of crude oil output would be in place through June 2023.
• Commerzbank lowered its 2023 midyear Brent crude oil forecast to US$80 a barrel (from $95)
• Cryptocurrencies are trading slightly higher today - Bitcoin gains 0.5%, Ethereum adds 0.4%
• Energy commodities are lower - oil drops 1.0% while US natural gas prices fell over 2.6%
• Precious metals little changed - silver rose 0.16%, gold trades 0.8% higher
• AUD and NZD are the best performing major currencies while USD and CHF lag the most

Nikkei (JAP225) was one of the best performing Asian indices today. Index returned to crucial resistance at 27200 pts, which is marked with previous price reactions and 23.6% Fibonacci retracement of the upward wave launched in March 2020.

[Solid ECN]

GBPUSD

Inflation Rate in the United Kingdom increased to 10.40% YoYin February from 10.10% in January, above market estimates of 9.9% YoY.

The largest upward contributions came from restaurants and cafes, food, and clothing, partially offset by downward contributions from recreational and cultural goods and services (particularly recording media), and motor fuels. Core CPI rose 6.20% in February over the same month in the previous year, well above analysts' estimates of 5.7%. Fresh data may suggest that the BoE may not necessarily be approaching the end of the tightening cycle. Tomorrow a 25 bp rate hike is expected.


GBPUSD is trading higher today and fresh CPI data provided more fuel for bulls. The currency pair is moving further away from support zone in the 1.2215 area.

[Solid ECN]

EURUSD

US home sales data for February was released at 2:00 pm GMT today and it turned out to be a massive beat. Data came in at 4.58 million, up from 4.00 million in January and significantly above 4.20 million expected by the market. The release trigger an uptick on equity markets with S&P 500 (US500) reaching a fresh daily high near 4,030 pts. USD, on the other hand, was muted with EURUSD barely moving in the first minutes following the release.



US home sales data for February was released at 2:00 pm GMT today and it turned out to be a massive beat. Data came in at 4.58 million, up from 4.00 million in January and significantly above 4.20 million expected by the market. The release trigger an uptick on equity markets with S&P 500 (US500) reaching a fresh daily high near 4,030 pts. USD, on the other hand, was muted with EURUSD barely moving in the first minutes following the release.

[Solid ECN]

US500

The key event of the month, the FOMC interest rate decision, is ahead of us. Although the Fed's decision is always referred to as the event of the month, tomorrow's decision will be even more closely scrutinized by the market due to the lingering specter of the banking crisis in the background. The mood on Wall Street is a veritable rollercoaster at the moment, but let us try to take a look at where the US500 benchmark has been moving and what might happen in the coming days.

As we can see on the chart of the US500 contracts on the D1 interval attached below, the instrument's quotations have been moving in a very interesting technical structure for almost 2 years. The US500 broke out above the long-term downtrend line and successfully defended its outer extension, which encouraged the bulls to rise. However, we are inexorably approaching the next limitation, namely the resistance set by the uptrend initiated in the last quarter of 2022.



What will happen next? To answer this question, we need to consider the factors that are shaping current market sentiment, namely tomorrow's FED decision and the specter of a banking crisis. At the moment, the money market is pricing in an 83.4% chance of a 25 basis point hike, which seems market neutral at the moment. However, the key factor will be Powell's comments after the meeting regarding the hike cycle in the context of banking uncertainty. The risk of worsening problems in the sector will go a long way to curbing the hawkish enthusiasm of the Fed, which, remember, is in an advanced stage of tightening and seeing positive developments in the economy, such as last week's good PPI inflation reading. Today, equity market sentiment was bolstered by further comments from the US Treasury, which was reported to be looking at providing unlimited deposit guarantees (via the FDIC) if the banking crisis worsens. In the event of a dovish FED, stock markets could eagerly extend the current upward momentum and break out above resistance near 4080 points. On the other hand, if the FED maintains a firm monetary stance, a downward impulse could be initiated towards support near 3870 points.

[Solid ECN]

AUDUSD

Yesterday's trading on Wall Street and in Europe ended higher, making up for losses from earlier in the day initiated by the uncertainty surrounding the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. Better sentiment fueled Asian markets today. Stock exchanges in Japan are closed due to a national holiday.

• AUDUSD pair breaks back below the 0.6700 level. The case for a pause in the rate hike cycle by the RBA at its 4 April meeting has strengthened. According to the RBA minutes released today, the Board agreed to reconsider the case for pausing rate hikes and to closely examine incoming data from the economy.
• The ECB's Holzmann is softening his previous calls for three consecutive 50 basis point rate hikes.
• From the US, there was some news affecting the stock market. The US Treasury is looking at unlimited deposit guarantees (via the FDIC) if the banking crisis worsens.
• On the political front, investors are looking at the Putin-Xi meeting in Moscow, which may bring new threads in the realm of the Ukraine conflict and other geopolitical-economic relations.
• PIMCO lost $340 million on the redemption of Credit Suisse Bank's AT1 bond. Lawyers from Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom are talking to Credit Suisse's AT1 bondholders about possible legal action after up to $17 billion in losses related to the redemption.
• Goldman Sachs commented on the current state of the equity market this way - "valuations don't look particularly attractive".
• Bill Ackman, founder and hedge fund manager of Pershing Square Capital commented that the FOMC should consider holding off on rate hikes for tomorrow's Committee decision. Today marks the start of the Fed's two-day meeting in Washington.
• Citi predicts a 25bp rate hike on Wednesday, and notes that the tone of the press conference will now be particularly important.
• Citadel and Trafigura traders believe that the turmoil in the banking market is temporary and unlikely to cause far-reaching perturbations in the global economy. Demand for oil should strengthen.

Quotations:
Futures in Europe point to a bullish opening to the session on the Old Continent. US contracts are also gaining, however the scale of the increases is minimal. On the FX market, the USD is currently performing best. NZD and AUD are the worst performers. Energy commodities are down, extending the wave of uncertainty in the economy. Gold and silver are correcting recent gains and recording slight declines. Bitcoin is currently losing 0.4 per cent and slipping towards $27,800.



The AUDUSD pair is currently trading in a structure bounded by important support and resistance levels. The upcoming FOMC decision and ongoing banking uncertainty could create additional volatility on the pair.

[Solid ECN]

S & P

Also news that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is leading discussions with other CEOs of other large US banks in an effort to provide further support, including potentially converting their $30 billion in deposits into a capital injection, only slightly calmed investors' nerves. According to Wall Street Journal, preliminary discussions have been focused on ways that the banks can boost the beleaguered banks capital. Also in play is a potential investment by the banks themselves.

Also according to CNBC, JPMorgan Chase is advising First Republic Bank on strategic alternatives, one of which is capital raise which could dilute current shareholders. A sale of the bank is also taken into consideration.



First Republic (FRC.US) stock has been in free fall recently. Last week alone, a troubled San Francisco-based lender lost nearly 70.0% of its market value. Sell-off accelerated in pre-market, however sellers failed to retest all-time low at $9.00 and buyers managed to erase some of the losses in the evening. Nevertheless, the main sentiment remains bearish and only a break above the local resistance zone around $42.25 could let to a bigger upward correction.

[Solid ECN]

BTC

• Weaker sentiment on stock exchanges did not prevent cryptocurrencies from rising
• The correlation of the price of BTC with the major indices has dropped noticeably recently
• Bitcoin price is approaching overbought levels and 61.8 Fibonacci retracement

The recent weakness of banks has caused capital to flow into cryptocurrencies for two reasons. The main beneficiary of the rally - decentralized Bitcoin - is not directly dependent on the centralized financial sector. Second, in the face of escalating bank problems, the chances of a Federal Reserve pivot have increased. Since the collapse of SVB, the Fed has already hinted twice at supporting market liquidity, which investors have taken as a positive prognosticator. It's still unpredictable which way the crisis will unfold but its hold on UBS's takeover of Credit Suisse coupled with a potentially dovish Fed could provide a catalyst for upside for risk assets.

On Wednesday at 8 pm GMT, markets will see if indeed Jerome Powell will be willing to go easy on Wall Street and change to a more dovish stance. If investors sense that the Fed is softening under the pressure of systemic concerns, the rally in cryptocurrencies is likely to be prolonged. At the same time, it is difficult to imagine the price of BTC continuing to rise if the scale of the current crisis were to increase significantly.



The price drop following the collapse of the SVB bank did not last long. Bitcoin surprised the markets and has since risen nearly 30%.



The largest of the cryptocurrencies has had one of its best weeks in the past few years, with the price rising more than 20%



The inverted head-and-shoulders formation pattern may herald bullish attempt to btrak the main psychological resistance level of $30,000.

Markets see more than 43% chance that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates on Wednesday. Just two weeks ago, the markets saw a 50bp hike as a chance. That's a drastic change.



The amount of stored BTC in the so-called 'cold wallets' of the largest BTC holders of so-called whales (above 1,000 BTC) is at levels last seen in mid-2020. This may indicate that if the BTC price maintains momentum, the amount of BTC in whale portfolios will increase again. For the moment, however, the amount of cryptocurrency in the whales' wallets continues to fall, which could indicate their sending BTC to exchanges and continued risk aversion among the largest holders. A change in this trend would be a sign of the growing strength of the largest of cryptocurrencies.

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Bitcoin, D1 interval. The price has approached $28,700, which coincides with the 61.8 Fibonacci abolition of the upward wave initiated in the spring of 2020. The RSI indicator indicates an overbought level signaling a possible correction.

[Solid ECN]

DE30

European indices had a poor start to a new week with major indices from the Old Continent launching today's cash trading session with significant bearish price gaps. This came after a government-brokered deal for UBS to acquire Credit Suisse failed to shore up market sentiment. Issue of Credit Suisse's AT1 bonds being written down to zero sparked concerns that it may be a problem for banks and financial institutions with exposure to those bonds. However, indices began to regain ground as the session progressed and all of the earlier losses have been erased already. Indices from Western Europe trade 0.5-1.0% higher on the day with German DAX adding 0.7% and French CAC40 jumping 0.9%.



Taking a look at the DE30 chart at H4 interval, we can see that another attempt at breaking below the 14,750 pts support zone was made today and once again it turned out to be a failure. Index caught a bid later on and rallied towards the psychological 15,000 pts mark. While the index managed to break above this hurdle, bulls failed to break above the 15,050 pts swing area. However, the index remains close to this resistance and another attempt to break above it later into the day cannot be ruled out.