Morning Update – 30/08/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

Morning all.. Wall St rallied strongly and put the tensions in N. Korea behind them for now with the S&P closing up marginally and the Dow up 0.26 having been a lot lower at the open. The more bullish sentiment rolled into the Asian session with the Nikkei rallying 0.7% after NY took USDJPY over 100 points off the lows.. USDJPY made a high of 110.10 this morning.. Antipodean currencies were the star of the show overnight. AUDUSD was the biggest mover, 0.5% stronger overnight and trading to its strongest level in 4 weeks after building approvals fell less than expected in July. NZDUSD traded slightly lower during the Asian session after Governor Wheeler commented on the need for a lower NZD to increase inflation. Wheeler went on to comment that the LVRS are not expect to be a permanent measure but their removal would require a degree of confidence that financial stability risks won’t deteriorate again. NZDUSD has since recovered trading at similar levels to yesterday. In commodities, gasoline futures continue to rally rising 3.2% as the effects of hurricane Harvey continue to playout. Gold prices continue to increase up 0.2% overnight. In the news, Teresa May has headed to Japan for a three day trip in the hope to seal a trade agreement in the wake of its divorce with the EU. This comes at a troubled time for PM May as North Korea threatens to overshadow the trip and Japan are looking to secure their own trade agreement with the EU in light of Brexit. This morning we get German regional and national CPI data, Spanish CPI, Swedish Manufacturing and consumer confidence and UK Mortgage and lending data. We also get EU consumer confidence. Good luck.