Canadian Dollar, USD/CAD, US Dollar, Wall Street, Virus Relief Bill – Asia Pacific Market Open
- Canadian Dollar gained but USD/CAD maintained upward trajectory
- US Senators appearing to delay immediate vote on virus relief package
- US Dollar may gain as Dow Jones, S&P 500 futures point lower ahead
Canadian Dollar Gains, US Dollar May Rise as Virus Relief Bill Vote May Be Delayed
The Canadian Dollar was one of the best performing majors on Wednesday as sentiment continued to improve amid bets on aggressive US fiscal stimulus. CAD gains picked up pace during the Wall Street session as crude oil prices trimmed losses from earlier in the day. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed 1.15% and 2.39% to the upside as the haven-linked US Dollar saw cautious weakness. Emerging market shares also ticked higher.
Yet some nervousness is brewing with Wall Street futures pointing lower heading into Thursday’s Asia Pacific trading session. The sentiment-linked Australian Dollar and similarly-behaving New Zealand Dollar are falling as the anti-risk Japanese Yen is rising. The Canadian Dollar is also trimming some of Wednesday’s performance as the US Dollar aims cautiously higher.
Towards the end of the North American session, Senators Bernie Sanders, Lindsey Graham, Ben Sasse and Tim Scott expressed various concerns about the $2 trillion stimulus package and threatened to delay a vote on it. This may have been why the S&P 500 and Dow Jones trimmed gains into the close and left foreign exchange markets expressing a “risk-off” tilt.
Thursday’s Asia Pacific Trading Session
The markets are likely placing an emphasis on expediency for policymakers to pass a fiscal package. Threats to the timing risk worsening the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak in the very near term. Later today, US jobless claims are anticipated to surge at a record pace. With that in mind, there may be scope for the US Dollar to recover ahead as the Greenback follows key rising support from earlier this month.
Canadian Dollar Technical Analysis
USD/CAD could be facing a very important technical turning point. The pair is testing “outer” support on the 4-hour chart below. This follows a break under “inner” support earlier in the week. The former is maintaining the upward trajectory. A daily close under 1.4145 – 1.4177 risks overturning the dominant uptrend. Otherwise, we may see the Canadian Dollar weaken towards falling resistance from this month’s peak.
USD/CAD 4-Hour Chart
Chart Created Using TradingView
--- Written by Daniel Dubrovsky, Currency Analyst for DailyFX.com
To contact Daniel, use the comments section below or @ddubrovskyFX on Twitter