Plenty of activity today, with attention once again centred around the US.

Currencies took a beating overnight, with both the euro and pound taking tumbles. The EUR/USD opened at $1.16200 and looked promising as it climbed to highs of $1.16439. Things then took a turn for the worse as it tumbled for the next few hours to hit lows of $1.15294. It was able to recover from that point however, as it steadily climbed to its current level of $1.15867. The GBP/USD did not fare as well as the euro. After opening at $1.32441, it climbed to a high of $1.32723. The pair then plummeted to lows of $1.31494 before recovering slightly and remaining flat for the rest of the session. It remains flat this morning, trading at $1.31674.

The Dow took a hammering yesterday as trade war worries persist. The Dow opened at 24,990.53 and hit a high of 24,996.32 during the first hour of trade. The losses then began to pile up as the Dow fell to lows of 24,547.84 several hours later. From that point it was a slow climb back up. It is currently trading at 24,728.20. The Dax opened at 12,686.13, or around 130 points lower than its closing price from the previous session. From there, it reached session lows of 12,588.50 a short time later. It then recovered, taking advantage of a lower euro as it climbed to session highs of 12,734.90. The Dax closed at 12,724.10.

The day ahead is quite busy, with a lot of central bankers speaking at non-monetary policy events. The data in focus today is the US Existing Home Sales figure. As homes are generally the largest purchase a person will make, a strong figure will usually indicate a strengthening economy as consumers have the confidence to commit to these large financial obligations. Other data set for release today includes:

NZ – GDP

Australia – MI Leading Index

UK – CBI Industrial Order Expectations

Europe – German PPI

US – Current Account, Crude Oil Inventories

Central Bank Forum – RBA Governor Philip Lowe, ECB President Mario Draghi, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and Fed Chair Jerome Powell all speak

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