Asia Summary and Highlights 24 March
China is considering joining the potential peacekeeping mission for Ukraine
White House is narrowing its approach to April 2 tariffs set
Asia Session
The global risk sentiment is heading to a more positive start. It seems to be triggered by the White House announcing they are narrowing its approach to April 2 tariffs set over the weekend. Headline about China considering joining the potential peacekeeping mission for Ukraine also have a potential impact on easing geopolitical tension. USD/JPY is trading 0.31% higher at 149.75 with both the U.S. Treasury and JGB yields higher.
U.S. equity indexes are upbeat on the first trading day of the week while regional equities balanced. The market seems to be happy about potentially less tariffs from the U.S. with USD trading broadly lower, though not much, against major currencies. AUD/USD is up 0.11% at 0.6279, NZD/USD is down 0.22% to 0.5720 while USD/CAD slips 0.04%. Else, EUR/USD is up 0.07% and GBP/USD is down 0.03%.
North American session
The USD recovered from an early dip as equities and UST yields moved off early lows after Trump stated there would be flexibility on tariffs. USD/JPY rebounded above 129 after slipping to 148.60. EUR/USD and GBP/USD ended little changed though GBP/USD saw a brief move below 1.29 as gilt yields rise on fiscal worries while EUR/USD briefly tested 1.08 on a report that French President Macron was seeking EU retaliation against US tariffs. AUD/USD slipped to .6275 from .63, seeing AUD/CAD weaker near .90.