Headlines:

• USD/JPY nudges lower as Japanese authorities meet
• Japan’s MOF, FSA, and BOJ to hold meeting to discuss financial markets
• Japan top currency diplomat Kanda: Recent yen moves are not reflecting fundamentals
• Japan finance minister Suzuki keeps mum when asked about stealth FX intervention
• Japan finance minister Suzuki reiterates that will take decisive action if needed on FX
• Japan chief Cabinet secretary says rapid FX moves are undesirable
• BOJ governor Ueda says FX moves have big impact on economy, prices
• BOJ governor Ueda says won’t rule out any options if economic, price developments worsen
• BOJ’s Tamura: It is desirable for FX to move stably reflecting economic fundamentals
• Spain March preliminary CPI +3.2% vs +3.2% y/y expected
• France March consumer confidence 91 vs 90 expected
• Switzerland March UBS investor confidence 11.5 vs 10.2 prior

Markets:

• JPY leads, CHF lags on the day
• European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.4%
• US 10-year yields down 1 bps to 4.223%
• Gold up 0.8% to $2,196.53
• WTI Crude down 0.6% to $81.13
• Bitcoin up 0.4% to $70,087

The main focus on the session was the Japanese yen, as it fell early on in Asia to its lowest since 1990 against the dollar.

USD/JPY touched a high of 151.97 before backing off slightly to around 151.60-70 levels as we got into European trading. Then, came a barrage of comments from Japanese officials but it did little to move the needle.

Japan top currency diplomat Kanda then came out to say that a meeting between the MOF, FSA, and BOJ was not needed yet. But as the verbal intervention lacked effectiveness, they had to resort to that as a meeting was called with less than 15 minutes warning.

That saw the yen gain some ground with USD/JPY falling from 151.70 to 151.15 initially. Kanda’s remarks were as you’d expect, just added jawboning and that saw USD/JPY bounce back to 151.40. But as the dust settles and the potential for Tokyo to act going into the Easter break later this week, we are seeing USD/JPY bulls favour caution as the pair now falls to 151.05 on the day.

Outside of that, the major currencies space was quite a bore. The dollar traded more steadily across the board with light changes to note. That makes the yen the only notable mover, with CHF/JPY also falling to its lowest levels for the year amid a „divergence“ in policy stance.

In other markets, equities are looking to bounce back after the late setback in Wall Street yesterday. European indices are higher again alongside US futures during the session. Meanwhile, gold is once again looking poised after a rejection at $2,200 yesterday. Is it third time the charm for the precious metal in March trading?

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

• Prior -1.6%
• Market index 196.8 vs 198.2 prior
• Purchase index 145.7 vs 146.0 prior
• Refinance index 460.9 vs 468.4 prior
• 30-year mortgage rate 6.93% vs 6.97% prior

Mortgage applications declined in the past week with both purchases and refinancing activities falling. That comes despite a slight easing in the average rate of the most popular US home loan, although still keeping near 7%.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.

Yesterday, the Nasdaq Composite fell into the close
ending the day negative as the market continues to consolidate awaiting better
levels where to trade from and new information to price in. We are now near a
key support zone and what happens here will be crucial especially if the data
continues to surprise to the upside and Fed members continue to push back rate
cuts. The path of least resistance remains to the upside but watch out for a
breakout of the support as that could lead to profit taking and a wave of
bearish bets.

Nasdaq Composite Technical
Analysis – Daily Timeframe

On the daily chart, we can see that the Nasdaq
Composite has
been diverging with
the MACD for a
long time. This is generally a sign of weakening momentum often followed by
pullbacks or reversals. We continue to trade inside the rising wedge, so if
the price were to break below the trendline, the
sellers will have much more conviction to look for new lows with the base of
the wedge at 14477 being the ultimate target.

Nasdaq Composite
Technical Analysis – 4 hour Timeframe

On the 4 hour chart, we can see that the
price is near the bottom trendline where we can also find the confluence of the
red 21 moving average and
the 50% Fibonacci
retracement level. This is where we can expect the
buyers to step in with a defined risk below the trendline to position for a
rally into a new all-time high. The sellers, on the other hand, will want to
see the price breaking lower to position for a drop into new lows with the
15937 level as the first target.

Nasdaq Composite Technical
Analysis – 1 hour Timeframe

On the 1 hour chart, we can see more
closely the recent price action and the bullish setup around the trendline.
What happens here will likely decide where the market will go in the next few
weeks as a bounce should lead to new highs and a break trigger a selloff.

Upcoming
Events

Today we have Fed’s Waller speaking. Tomorrow, we
get the latest US Jobless Claims figures, while on Friday we conclude with the
US PCE report and Fed Chair Powell.

This article was written by FL Contributors at www.forexlive.com.

Plus500, a global multi-asset fintech group operating proprietary
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Academy serves as a one-stop shop for traders to access key financial news and
enhance their knowledge and insights.
These upgrades are part of Plus500’s commitment to providing traders on
its platform with access to information and support that enables them to make
the most informed trading decisions.

The newly
revamped Plus500 Trading Academy is underpinned by the Group’s cutting-edge
proprietary technology and comprises improved educational materials across
multiple media formats including how-to trading videos, informative articles
and analysis, webinars from market experts about specific instruments,
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section, providing users with accessible content relating to key global
business and economic news, to help inform their trading decisions.

Key
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●
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●
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Plus500 said: “We are excited to relaunch our Trading Academy with its improved
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Find out
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About Plus500

Plus500 is a global
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The Group retains
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Plus500’s trading
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This article was written by FL Contributors at www.forexlive.com.

• Speculative moves are behind recent yen movement
• Does not consider a 4% move in a span of 2 weeks as being a „mild“ move
• Closely watching FX moves with a high sense of urgency
• Will not rule out any steps to respond to „disorderly“ FX moves

It was evident that the barrage of verbal jawboning throughout the week wasn’t working. So, this was the next step by Japanese authorities. Kanda’s remarks are just a tad stronger compared to all the other warnings today. But that is only the case because it is reinforced by a meeting between the three parties noted above.

Otherwise, his remarks aren’t anything new in terms of what we’ve already heard. But that is what we already expected. If anything, it is just an added emphasis that they could look to intervene if things continue in the sessions ahead.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.