The USD is the strongest and the JPY is the weakest as the NA session begins

<p>As the North American session begins, the USD is the strongest and the JPY is the weakest. The major currencies are all "scrunched" together with modest changes. The USDJPY is the largest mover with a gain of 0.37% in the US morning session. </p><p>It is US jobs week this week with the NFP being released on Friday, and the JOLTS job openings data (and components like Quits and Hires) will be released today to kickstart the process. The schedule today shows:</p><ul><li>9:00 AM ET: S&amp;P/CS Composite-20 HPI y/y Forecast: -1.5% Previous: -1.7%</li><li>9:00 AM ET: HPI m/m Forecast: 0.2% Previous: 0.7%</li><li>10:00 AM ET: CB Consumer Confidence Forecast: 116.0 Previous: 117.0</li><li>10:00 AM ET:JOLTS Job Openings Forecast: 9.49M Previous: 9.58M</li></ul><p>In China, State Banks are set to reduce existing mortgage rates in the near future to help stimulate that industry. Additionally, some banks are considering decreasing fixed term deposit interest rates by 10-25bps, as reported by Reuters. This follows earlier reports from Chinese State media suggesting that the People's Bank of China (PBoC) might reduce banks' Reserve Requirement Ratio (RRR) sooner than anticipated to ensure adequate liquidity. Bloomberg has also indicated that major Chinese banks are contemplating further deposit rate cuts to stimulate growth, with potential reductions ranging from 5-20bps across key tenors. These proposed changes have received regulatory approval and could be implemented as early as Friday. Furthermore, Bloomberg has reported that China might decrease rates on existing mortgages imminently.</p><p>A snapshot of the markets as the NA session gets underway shows:</p><ul><li>Crude oil is trading up $0.44 for 0.57% at $80.56</li><li>Spot gold is trading down $2.69 or -0.14% $1916.69</li><li>Spot silver is trading unchanged at $24.20</li><li>Bitcoin is trading at $25,961</li></ul><p>In the US premarket for US stocks, major indices are trading marginally lower</p><ul><li>Dow Industrial Average futures are implying a decline of -29 points after yesterday's 213.08 point rise</li><li>S&amp;P index futures are implying a decline of -3.5 points after yesterday's 27.60 point rise</li><li>NASDAQ futures are implying a decline of -15 points after yesterday's 114.48 point rise</li></ul><p>In the European equity markets, the major indices are trading higher </p><ul><li>German DAX, up 0.30%</li><li>France's CAC, up 0.31%</li><li>UK's FTSE 100, up 1.41%</li><li>Spain's Ibex, up 0.55%</li><li>Italy's FTSE MIB, up 0.68% (delayed)</li></ul><p>In the Asian Pacific today, equity markets closed higher across the board</p><ul><li>Japan’s Nikkei 225, 0.18%</li><li>China’s Shanghai Composite 1.2%</li><li>Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, 1.95%</li><li>Australia’s S&amp;P/ASX 200, 0.71%</li></ul><p>In the US debt market, yields are marginally higher</p><ul><li>2-year yield, 5.021%, +0.7 basis points basis points</li><li>5-year yield, 4.401% +0.7 basis points basis points</li><li>10-year yield, 4.22% +0.8 basis points</li><li>30-year yield, 4.297%, +0.6 basis points</li></ul><p>In the European debt market, benchmark 10-year yields are trading mostly lower</p>

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.