The Australian and the New Zealand dollars declined against their major counterparts on Friday morning in Asia as a slide in most Asian stocks prompted traders to flee from riskier currencies.
The aussie slumped to multi-day lows against the yen and the US dollar and also fell from a 1-week high against the New Zealand dollar and a 4-day high against the Canadian dollar. At the same time, the New Zealand dollar plunged to an 8-day low against the yen and a 2-day low against the US dollar.
The Australian and the New Zealand stock markets are trading marginally lower today with investors treading cautiously amid a lack of prominent triggers.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rebounded a bit after falling to around 4,991 in early trades, is currently down 16 points or 0.3% at 4,986. The broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 5,009, down 15 points or 0.3% from its previous close.
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index is currently trading at 3,316, down 5 points, or 0.14%. New Zealand’s NZX All Capital Index is presently losing 2 points, or 0.07%, to 3,293.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan is trading notably lower, and Malaysia and South Korea are down marginally. Singapore is trading in positive territory.
The Australian dollar slumped to a 3-day low of 86.38 against the Japanese yen and a 2-day low of 0.9298 against the US dollar by 10:30 pm ET Thursday. The aussie that was worth 0.9347 against the greenback and 86.96 against the yen at Thursday’s North American session close is presently worth 0.9298 and 86.19, respectively. On the downside, the Australian dollar may find support levels at 0.9230 against the greenback and 85.60 against the yen.
The Australian currency that rose to a 1-week high of 1.3148 against the New Zealand dollar and a 4-day high of 0.9374 against the Canadian dollar at the beginning of the session reversed its direction shortly. The Australian dollar is presently trading at 1.3097 against the NZ dollar and 0.9347 against the Canadian dollar, down from yesterday’s closing quotes of 1.3138 and 0.9368, respectively.
The Australian dollar also drifted lower to 1.4577 against the euro by 10:30 pm ET from 1.4530 hit late New York Thursday. The euro-aussie pair is presently worth 1.4570 with 1.4620 seen as the next likely target level in near-term.
The New Zealand dollar slumped to an 8-day low of 65.79 against the Japanese yen and a 2-day low of 0.7101 against the US dollar by 10:30 pm ET Thursday from Thursday’s New York session closing quotes of 66.27 and 0.7122, respectively. The next downside target for the kiwi-buck and the kiwi-yen pairs are likely seen at 0.70 and 65.20, respectively.
Against the euro, the New Zealand dollar declined to 1.9093 around 10:30 pm ET Thursday from a high of 1.9030 hit around 8:15 pm. The euro-kiwi pair is presently trading near yesterday’s closing value of 1.9079.
Looking ahead, the euro-zone and the Italian consumer price indexes for March and the euro-zone trade balance and the Italian current account-both for February are slated for release in the upcoming European session.
Turning to the North American session, markets are likely to focus on the housing starts data for March and the preliminary report of the Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey for April.
Canada’s February manufacturing sales and new motor vehicle sales-both for the month of February are also on tap in the New York session.
