Market wrap: safe-havens doing well - Westpac

Analysts at Westpac offered a market wrap.

Key Quotes:

"Global market sentiment:

Safe–haven US and German Interest rates fell amid rising European political risks. European equities performed poorly, while safe-haven currencies did well.

Interest rates:

US 10yr treasury yields fell from 2.46% to 2.41%, 2yr yields from 1.19% to 1.15%. German 10yr bund yields also fell, from 0.43% to 0.36%, in contrast to the French 10yr yield which rose from 1.08% to 1.16% - a 17 month high. The latter has been unnerved by far-right candidate Le Pen’s recent promise to exit the Eurozone and hold a referendum on EU membership.

Currencies:  

The US dollar index was fairly stable. EUR fell from 1.0780 to 1.0706, possibly aided by Draghi’s commitment to QE overnight. The safe-haven yen was the best performer, USD/JPY falling from 112.75 to 111.65 – a two-month low.

AUD initially extended its post-retail sales data decline to 0.7630 before rebounding late NY to 0.7655.

NZD ranged between 0.7285 and 0.7330.

AUD/NZD probed slightly lower to 1.0460."