The dollar is holding above the 104.50 zone in anticipation of a fresh bullish catalyst
Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher in a mixed session on Thursday. The S&P 500 had its best first quarter since 2019 and also marked its best first-quarter performance in three years. The index added 0.1% to hit a fresh all-time high, gaining more than 10% in the first quarter. The Dow Jones also ticked up 0.1% and likewise set a record. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1%. US stock and bond markets will be closed Friday. On the data front, the US economy grew at a solid 3.4% annual pace in the fourth quarter to exceed the previous estimate of 3.2%.
Asian shares were mostly higher on Friday in thin holiday trading, with many regional markets closed for Good Friday. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% as Japanese stocks rebounded from yesterday’s drop. The Kospi in Seoul edged less than 0.1% higher. The Shanghai Composite index in China gained 1.01%. In individual stocks, Chinese telecommunications company Huawei said its net profit for 2023 more than doubled thanks to better product offerings. Net profit grew by 114.5% year-on-year to 87 billion yuan.
In currencies, the US dollar has been retaining bullish bias for the fourth session in a row on Friday, clinging to the upper end of a local trading range. Yesterday, the USD index briefly saw fresh mid-February highs around 104.73 before retreating marginally. Ahead of the weekend, demand for the greenback persists, with prices holding above the 104.50 zone in anticipation of a fresh bullish catalyst. Next, traders will focus on US PCE data that will set the tone for the USD pairs ahead of the weekend.
Elsewhere, the bitcoin price holds slightly negative on Friday, oscillating around the $70,000 psychological figure after a retreat from all-time highs seen in the $73,700 area earlier this month. On the weekly charts, the BTCUSD pair looks set to finish with solid gains after two weeks of losses in a row. In the near term, the digital currency needs to settle above the $71,000 figure in order to retarget the mentioned all-time tops. On the downside, the nearest support now arrives in the $69,000 region.