Apple jumps post-earnings – All eyes on US jobs data [Video]

Sentiment is not bad for a week which confirmed that the Federal Reserve (Fed) won’t cut the interest rates anytime soon. US futures are up in the wake of better-than-expected Apple results, and ahead of today’s much-important US jobs data. The jobs data will be more important this time than in the past due to increased uncertainty regarding the future of the Fed policy. The US economy is expected to have added around 240K new nonfarm jobs in April, the average pay is expected to have grown slightly slower on a yearly basis, and the unemployment is seen steady at 3.8%. We can’t predict where the market will be headed after the data, but based on the cost of ATM puts and calls expiring today, Citigroup predicts that the S&P500 could move 1.2% up or down as a reaction to the data.

The US dollar is under selling pressure this morning, the EURUSD is drilling above a minor Fibonacci retracement with risk of seeing gains reversed after today’s US jobs report. The USDJPY continues to retreat thanks to intervention – and the speculation regarding intervention – from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) this week, while Cable tests the 200-DMA to the upside. The common denominator for what’s next is the US jobs report. A strong report could easily reverse gains in major peers, fuel the hawkish Fed expectations and back a dollar appreciation before the weekly closing bell.