U.S. Dollar Index DXY

The central bank’s hawkish monetary policy approach that led to four rate hikes in 2018 proved a continuous engine for dollar strength last year, in particular as other developed world central banks were not yet tightening policy, or not to the same extent.
“The rhetoric since the December forecasts ha changed dramatically. Today’s meeting is about realigning the two. This means that growth and inflation forecasts will be lowered,” said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex, before the update.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.58% , which had been up 0.1% ahead of the central bank’s statement, dropped 0.6% to 95.792, touching its lowest level in more than six weeks, according to FactSet.
The euro EURUSD, +0.6166% the greenback’s biggest rival, shot higher on the dollar’s weakness, last buying $1.1442, compared with $1.1353 late Tuesday.

EUR/USD

USD/JPY Intraday: Downside prevails. The pair, as shown on a 30-minute chart, remains on the downside after a sharp decline overnight. Trading below the key resistance at 111.10, the pair is also capped by the descending 20-period moving average. And the relative strength index is still subdued in the 30s. Intraday bearishness persists, and the pair should target 110.35 and 110.00 on the downside.

EUR/USD Intraday: Upside prevails. The pair keeps trading on the upside following a sharp bounce overnight. It is currently not far away from a high of 1.1448 seen yesterday while the bullish intraday outlook is being maintained by those well-directed technical indicators (20-period, 50-period moving averages, and relative strength index). Staying above the key support at 1.1390, the pair should revisit 1.1450 (around the high of yesterday) before advancing toward 1.1475.

AUD/USD Intraday: Further advance. The pair broke above a declining trend line drawn from March 18 turning the intraday outlook bullish. Currently it continues to strike against the upper Bollinger band calling for acceleration to the upside. Support is provided by the ascending 20-period moving average, which stands above the 50-period one. Unless the key support at 0.7110 (a reaction low) is breached, the pair should charge higher toward 0.7180 and 0.7210 on the upside.

Gold prices

Gold prices fell for the seventh straight session yesterday, partly due to a stronger dollar. Gold futures (/GC) were down 0.3% at $1283.90 a troy ounce. Oil prices declined slightly Tuesday, sticking to a narrow trading range as stock markets moved sideways and investors awaited weekly government data on U.S. oil inventories.  U.S. crude oil futures (/CL) closed 0.1% lower yesterday, and settled at $56.56 per barrel.

Oil Futures (/CL)

Oil Futures (/CL) are stretching to fresh 2019 highs near $58 a barrel with another 1% gain coming in speculation of a favorable trade deal with China to spur further economic expansion.  Gold Futures (/GC) are barely hanging on to weekly gains at $1331 an ounce after two straight losing sessions amid a rumored hostile takeover of Newmont  Mining (NEM) by Canadian rival Barrick Gold as competition has increased. 

(SPX) 2/6

Stronger than expected earnings from some consumer discretionary companies help lead the S&P 500 (SPX) to its fifth consecutive higher session.  Beauty products maker Estee Lauder (EL) and fashion house Ralph Lauren (RL) rose 12% and 8.4%, respectively after strong quarterly results. Google parent Alphabet (GOOG) also rose 0.9% to 1151.87 despite incurring rising costs.  After fears of slowing U.S. growth and tariffs, investors came into 2019 with low expectations for the current earnings season.  Better or ‘not so bad’ results have helped fuel the recent rally.  After suffering its biggest annual loss in a decade last year, the S&P 500 (SPX) is up over 9% since the beginning of the year.  On the day, the Dow Jones Industrials ($DJI) rose 0.7% to 25411.52, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) gained 0.7% to 7402.08, and the S&P 500 (SPX) added 0.5% to 2737.70.