Another busy day for markets, with plenty of data set for publication.

USD-paired currencies continue to get hammered as the dollar gathers momentum. The EUR/USD bore the brunt of a strengthening USD, dropping more than a cent. The pair reached a high of $1.19380 early, before falling away for most of the session until it hit lows of $1.18148. It has recovered ever so slightly, currently trading at $1.18263. The GBP/USD was belted as well, dropping further than the euro. However, it recovered more of its losses than its European counterpart. After climbing a short distance to highs of $1.35715, it tumbled to lows of $1.34497 in late trading. It has managed to claw back some of those losses, currently trading at $1.35038.

The Dow returned to bad habits, seemingly unsure of which way it wants to go. The Dow opened at a high of 24,914.17, but it was mainly downhill from there. It fell sharply throughout the session, until it bottomed out at 24,623.93. It managed to pop back up to 24,726.00 but the recovery was only temporary. It is currently trading at 24,643.00 and looking shaky to say the least. The Dax endured a much more volatile session but still managed to close the day stronger. After opening at 12,952.29, it rocketed up to highs of 13,010.30 a few hours later. It then took a turn for the worse, tumbling to lows of 12,917.30. However, it recovered just about all of those losses as it closed at 12,989.90.

The day ahead brings with it a smorgasbord of data from around the world. The most significant data is the US Building Permits figure. This figure reflects the annualised number of new residential building permits issued during the previous month. As the single biggest purchase a consumer can make, the housing sector is a good indicator of determining economic growth within a country. Other data set for release today includes:

Australia – Wage Price Index, Westpac Consumer Sentiment

China – Foreign Direct Investment

Japan – Revised Industrial Production

UK – CB Leading Index

Canada – Governing Council Member Lawrence Schembri speaks, Manufacturing Sales

NZ – PPI Input & Output

Europe – European & German Final CPIs, European Final Core CPI, ECB President Mario Draghi & SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan speak

US – Housing Starts, Capacity Utilisation Rate, Industrial Production, Mortgage Delinquencies, Crude Oil Inventories, FOMC Member Raphael Bostic speaks

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