01.04.14

Good morning,

Japanese figures disappointed expectations earlier in this session and since yesterday we saw the USDJPY pair trading from just above 102 JPY per USD to currently trade close to 103.30 Chinese figures however were in line with expectations, the official Purchasing Managers' Index increased to 50.3 in March from February's 50.2. Australia’s interest rate remained unchanged at 2.5% with AUDUSD trading close to the 0.93 figure for the first time since late November.

The NIKKEI was trading at 14791.99 down 35.84 points or minus 0.24%

Europe will see publication of Markit PMI figures for Italy, Greece, France the UK and Germany this session along with unemployment figures for Germany. The German unemployment rate is expected to remain at 6.8% EURUSD was trading at 1.3790 with a high of 1.3790 and a low of 1.3769 so far.

The FTSE100 closed at 6598.37 down 17.21 points, minus 0.26% while the DAX closed at 9555.91 down 31.28 points or minus 0.33%

Across the Atlantic, US markets will also see the Markit PMI figures and the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI figures published, along with construction spending data. Russian and US tension continue in the Ukraine region, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited the Crimea region, and this has angered Ukrainian officials. Gas prices could be affected should the situation escalate further, along with Gold and Oil prices. NGAS was trading at 4.36 at time of writing.

The DOW closed at 16457.66 up 134.60 points, or 0.82%

Hope you all have a nice day.