USD/JPY climbs to fresh daily high near 107.20
- USD/JPY rises as market sentiment improves in American session.
- US Dollar Index clings to daily gains above 100.
- Wall Street's main indexes pull away from daily lows.
After dropping below 107 during the early trading hours of the American session, the USD/JPY gained traction on improving market sentiment. As of writing, the pair was trading at a fresh daily high of 107.18, gaining 0.15% on the day.
The data published by the US Department of Labor showed that 2.9 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 9th. The fact that this reading came in higher than the market expectation of 2.5 million caused risk-off flows to return.
Reflecting the sour market mood, Wall Street's main indexes started the day more than 1% lower. However, after the White House spokeswoman said US President Trump was open to a phase-four coronavirus economic stimulus bill, stocks started to recover early losses.
DXY rises for second straight day
On the other hand, the US Dollar Index (DXY) is clinging to its daily gains above 100.40 on Thursday to help USD/JPY stretch higher. Earlier in the day, US President Trump told Fox Business Network that a strong dollar was a "great thing" that could help the economy rebound and triggered a USD-buying wave.
On Friday, investors will be paying close attention to Industrial Production and Retail Sales data from China, which have the potential to risk perception.
Technical levels to watch for