Asian forex market wrap: USD continues to struggle

Stock futures jump on much better than expected earnings results from Apple computers, after the bell Brazil to impose capital inflow tax RBA minutes suggest that more rate rises are on the way Japan will sell new bonds to cover tax shortfall in current financial year Regional stockmarkets gain up to 1%, buoyed by Apple results Gold and oil make decent gains on the back of weakening USD EUR/USD opened the session at 1.4955 having again failed overnight to break above the previous 1.4968 high. Stops above 1.4975 were finally triggered in early Asian trade and the pair settled in to a quiet morning session before another attempt higher failed at 1.4994. There is still lots of talk in the market of some big option barriers at 1.50 which will be vigorously defended. JC Trichet held a news conference after meeting with EU finance ministers but he had nothing to say regarding the level of the EUR/USD. Cable also ran higher in early trade, breaking above the NY high at 1.6423 on way to a 1.6435 high, very close to strong technical resistance in the form of a trendline. This 1.6435/50 level is looming as a pivotal short term area and a clean break above should open the way to further significant gains. The pound has managed to hold onto its gains against both the EUR and the JPY which is also a positive sign for sterling bulls. USD/JPY has been fairly uneventful as have the JPY crosses. The JPY weakened in early trade as GBP/JPY and AUD/JPY buying threatened to break them onto a new higher plane but when no follow-through buying eventuated, most pairs returned to their opening levels. Dealers say that there was a decent sized bid was filled at 90.30 in USD/JPY which succeeded in soaking up most of the selling interest. The AUD/USD traded to a high of .9310 on the back of the RBA minutes but overall interest was rather muted today and the pair has traded rather uneventfully for the majority of the session. Ranges: EUR/USD 1.4955/94; cable 1.6373/1.6435; USD/JPY 90.28/77; AUD/USD .9270/.9310. Markets: Nikkei +1.1%; HK +0.6%; Shanghai +0.9%. Oil +0.4%, $79.90/bbl. Gold +0.9%, $1067.50/oz.