Brent hit $60bbl, US equities up, dollar gives back some gains - ANZ

Analysts at ANZ noted that equity markets finished the week marginally higher with the USD giving back some recent gains. 

Key Quotes:

"The curve bull flattened and Brent hit USD60/bbl for the first time since 2015. Tech stocks opened sharply higher led by strong earnings from Amazon (+13%). NASDAQ rose 2.2%; S&P 500 climbed 0.8%; and Dow added 0.1%. European bourses rose 0.3-0.7% outside Spain with the prospect of open-ended QE buoying shares. Spain’s IBEX35 fell 1.5% after the Catalan government declared independence and PM Rajoy dismissed their government. The USD rallied on stronger-than-expected GDP growth; however, this proved short lived after Bloomberg reported Trump is leaning toward (dovish cf Taylor) Powell for the Fed Chair. The treasury curve bull flattened with 2 year down 2.3bps to 1.59% and the 10-year falling 4.5bps to 2.415%. Brent oil rose above USD60/bbl for the first time since 2015 with WTI up to USD54. Gold climbed 0.5% to USD1274/oz with the weaker dollar helping price action."