Saxo Bank | Mar 20, 2015 02:50AM ET
Overnight
US stocks fell on Thursday, pulling back a day after the Federal Reserve’s cautious stance on interest rates spurred strong gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 117.16 points, or 0.65%, to 17,959.03, while the S&P 500 Index lost 10.23 points, or 0.5%, to 2089.27. Shares of energy companies posted some of the sharpest losses as oil prices retreated, with the S&P 500 Energy Index shedding 1.7%. Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.8% on its first day of trading as a Dow component. Shares of AT&T (NYSE:T), replaced by Apple in the Dow, fell 1.2%.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9.55 points, or 0.2%, to 4992.38. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks shares of small-capitalisation companies, rose 2.72 points, or 0.2%, to 1254.86 – its second straight record high.
European markets were mixed. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.2% while France’s CAC 40 gained 0.1%, and the FTSE 100 added 0.25%.
In commodity markets, crude-oil futures declined 1.6% to $43.96 a barrel. Gold for immediate delivery climbed 0.3% to settle at $1,171.18 an ounce.
Treasury prices fell, lifting the U.S. 10-Year yield to 1.977%, compared with 1.945% on Wednesday.
Local Markets
Data points
Friday
Current ASX Trades
Broker Upgrades
Broker Downgrades
AUD/USD
The Aussie dollar pulled back all of the gains from yesterday’s morning rally confirming that its rise was an overreaction to the FOMC statement. The resistance level 0.7850 once again proved to be a major level that limits any further upside, while 0.7611 remains a key support level. Weakening iron ore prices would continue to put downward pressure on AUD/USD.
Buy AUD/USD
Entry: Limit 0.7612
Target: 0.7693
Stop loss: 0.7589
Source: Saxo Bank
S&P/ASX200
S&P/ASX200 found a strong resistance level at 5,955 overnight and this level has been a key resistance level three times in the past. We do not see any major catalyst for our market to break through this level, therefore we prefer shorting just below this resistance level and expect some profit taking as falling iron ore and oil prices should drag down our mining and energy sectors.
Sell S&P/ASX200
Entry: Limit 5,946
Target: 5,905
Stop loss: 5,963
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