Anxiety in markets continued to recede, dollar weaker - ANZ

Analysts at ANZ noted that Sterling grabbed the limelight in early trading, falling in response to weaker-than-expected UK inflation although explaining that a weaker USD re-emerged after the US said it has started direct talks with North Korea and Russia, and Russia is reported to be looking to dial back tensions.

Key Quotes:

"Anxiety in markets continued to recede and equity markets gained (supported by generally positive earnings reports)."

"Oil was firm with WTI rising 3% to $68.50/bbl, reaching the highest level since December 2014 as the US reported falling stockpiles."

"Iron ore was up 2.4% and gold was up 0.1%. The yield on the US 10-year note ticked up 4bps to 2.87%. At the time of writing, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% (led by the energy sector), while the DAX finished unchanged, the CAC 40 rose 0.5% and FTSE was up 1.3%."

"In general, however, markets remained range bound. Investors are assessing the risks and outlook at the start of Q2. The latter half of Q1 proved turbulent and has tempered the extreme levels of confidence that had begun to emerge."