USD/JPY is expected to trade with bearish bias as capped by a declining trend line. On Thursday, U.S. stock indexes were mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging down 0.1% to 17895, the S&P 500 dipping 0.1% to 2097, and the Nasdaq Composite being up 0.4% to 4876. Automobiles, media and semiconductors were the leading sectors, while utilities, telecoms and energy lost the most.
Nymex crude oil slumped 4.8% to $45.14 a barrel as crude inventories declined slightly less than expected.
European stocks rebounded, with the Stoxx Europe 600 gaining 1.1%.
The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield settled at 1.387%, up from 1.385% Wednesday. Gold declined 0.2% to $1360 an ounce, ending a six-day winning streak, and silver was down 2.0% to $19.66 an ounce.
On the economic front, the ADP national employment report showed that the private sector in the U.S. added 172,000 jobs in June (vs. +159K expected, +168K in May). And tonight the government will release the June jobs report where it is widely estimated that 180,000 non-farm payrolls were added (vs. +38,000 in May) and the jobless rate would rise to 4.8% from 4.7%.
Regarding forex trading, the British pound traded in a roller-coaster-ride style yesterday. GBP/USD surged up to 1.3047 from the prior-day close at 1.2929 before slumping back to close at 1.2907. This morning the pair reached as low as 1.2876 before rebounding to levels over 1.2930.
The euro remained under pressure as EUR/USD fell 0.4% to 1.1059, while USD/JPY posted a 3-day losing streak by dropping 0.6% to 100.75.
The Australian dollar once sank to 0.7464 against the greenback yesterday (previous close: 0.7515) after S&P revised the Australia's rating outlook to 'negative' from 'stable'. AUD/USD finally settled 0.5% lower at 0.7477.
On the other hand, the New Zealand dollar soared 1.4% to 0.7226 against the U.S. dollar after New Zealand's central bank deputy governor warned against further interest rate cuts. This morning NZD/USD bounced to 0.7255.
The 5% plunge in oil prices helped to weigh down the Canadian dollar. USD/CAD rebounded powerfully from a day-low of 1.2873 to close at 1.3001, up 0.3% day on day. The pair eventually breached the key support at 101.20 turning the intraday outlook bearish. At the same time it is capped by a bearish trend line. As long as the bearish trend line and the key resistance at 101.20 (around yesterday's high) restrict the pair's upside, the intraday outlook remains bearish and a return to 99.90 is expected.
Recommendations for USD/JPY:
The pair is trading below its pivot point. It is likely to trade in a lower range as long as it remains below the pivot point. Short positions are recommended with the first target at 99.90. A break below this target will move the pair further downwards to 99.25. The pivot point stands at 101.20. In case the price moves in the opposite direction and bounces back from the support level, it will move above its pivot point. It is likely to move further to the upside. According to that scenario, long positions are recommended with the first target at 101.45 and the second one, at 101.80.
Resistance levels: 101.45, 101.80, 102.20
Support levels: 99.90, 99.25, 98.65
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com