Stocks and dollar up, France promises more stimulus

The EU indices were rising again on Thursday, with the German DAX up half a percent. The US indices were lagging, although futures were indicating at another bullish open. 

The French government announced today it plans to inject 100 billion EUR of stimulus over two years to soften the coronavirus crisis’s economic impact.

The EURUSD pair continued in its reversal and was trading 0.4% lower during the EU session, falling toward the 1.18 level. It is now nearly 200 pips off its cycle highs reached earlier in the week above the 1.20 threshold. 

Later in the day, the EU retail sales are due, and investors expect a solid improvement to 3.5% year-on-year. However, the monthly change is forecast to slow down, notably, from 5.7% to 1.5%. 

Moreover, the US jobless claims are due during the US session, with initial claims expected to come out near 1 million again, while continuing claims should decrease to 14 million. 

Tomorrow, traders will pay attention to US non-farm payrolls, which should be bullish for equities, no matter how it comes out.