The coronavirus has sent another shock through the financial markets, while employment data from the US is in the spotlight.

The EURUSD continues its impressive run of late, climbing back over $1.12 overnight. The pair began the day at $1.11316 and was flat early, dipping to a low of $1.11186 mid-session. It bounced back in a big way, rallying to a high of $1.12445 late in the day. It has come off those highs and is now trading at $1.12200. The GBPUSD made some strong gains overnight after opening at $1.28701 and slipped to a low of $1.28591 early. It was basically all up from there as the pound marched to a high of $1.29677 late in the day. It has come away from those highs and is now trading at $1.29559.

Stocks were hammered overnight on the back of news that a number of cities around the world have recorded sharp increases in the amount of people who have been infected by the coronavirus. The Dow opened at 26,947.14 and edged up to a high of 26,995.87 in the first hour of the day. The losses started shortly afterwards, with the Dow plummeting to lows of 25,939.09 late in the day. It has bounced off those lows and is now at 26,152.00. The Dax was pulled down by the Dow after opening at 12,162.91. The German index nudged up to a high of 12,218.98 in the opening hour before remaining steady for a few hours. The inevitable happened and the falling Dow began to take its toll, with the Dax tumbling to lows of 11,745.34 in the final hours of trade. It has opened Friday slightly higher and is now trading at 11,801.77.

The day ahead will once again be dominated by news surrounding the coronavirus, however there is some important economic data that is being published. The US will be releasing Non-Farm Employment Change, Average Hourly Earnings and Unemployment Rate figures later tonight. The US economy is expected to have added 175,000 jobs over the previous month, while wages are tipped to have grown by 0.3%. The Unemployment Rate is forecast to remain steady at 3.6%.

Other data published today includes:

Japan – Leading Indicators

UK – Halifax HPI

Canada – Trade Balance, Employment Change, Unemployment Rate, Ivey PMI

Europe – Italian Retail Sales, French Trade Balance, German Factory Orders, Swiss Foreign Currency Reserves

US – Trade Balance, Final Wholesale Inventories, Consumer Credit, FOMC Members Neel Kashkari and John Williams speak

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