Key Points
- Markets largely quiet overnight amid mixed data
- Initial Claims were weaker than expected, while the Philly Fed was better than expected
- BoE boosts its QE program by GBP100bln
Bias: Risk neutral
Commentary
A very quiet session on U.S. equities overnight ahead of tonight’s Quadruple Witching, which is a day where stock options and futures and futures options all expire. The upside was capped by a weaker than expected Initial Claims report, while the downside was supported by a better than expected Philly Fed report, which showed strong manufacturing activity.
Currencies were largely quiet overnight, with the Big Dollar finishing tightly mixed against most of the majors. Bucking the trend was Cable, which rose strongly after the BoE boosted its QE program by GBP100bln.
Commodities maintained their directionless postures, with oil finishing slightly better and gold slightly worse on the day.
Bias
Expect a quiet end to the week in Asia ahead of tonight’s Quadruple Witching. Data sees Australian, Canadian and UK Retail Sales along with U.S. Current Account numbers.