Summary:

• Facebook eases its approach towards cryptocurrency advertisements

• European stock markets continuously march lower

• Final US GDP reading for the first quarter of 2018 to be released in the afternoon

Major stock benchmarks from the Old Continent are declining for another day. The most steep declines are observed on the German stock market. However, it is worth to note that the S&P 500 futures point for a green opening on Wall Street. On the FX market we can see NZD being the top underperformer after RBNZ meeting. The biggest gains are observed on EUR and CAD. Brent is trading higher while WTI remains flat. Precious metals trade mixed amid mixed performance of the greenback.

At the beginning of 2018 we have seen several social media companies banning cryptocurrency ads on their media services. Among such companies one can name Twitter, Google or Facebook. However, Facebook learned that the decision may have been too rapid and the company has lifted its ban on such advertisements lately.

The Czech National Bank lifted rates at its yesterday’s meeting, the move which had been expected just be a few economists surveyed by Bloomberg. As a result, the koruna increased quite notably, but then it erased these gains. Today the Czech currency is trading 0.35% lower against the shared currency and from a technical point of view we could have a brush with a key day on this cross.

European equities have started today’s session lower, but then they have managed to recover to some extent when cash markets opened. Should investors in the United States keep their bullish moods until the open, one may expect quite a buoyant session across European stocks as well.

Beginning with the currency market one can identify the NZ dollar as the weakest major currency in the morning while elsewhere results are equivocal. NZD’s underperformance stems from the fact that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand delivered somewhat more dovish remarks when it left rates untouched in line with expectations.