Shares of the shipping giant FedEx (NYSE: FDX) surged more than 11% in extended trading on Thursday after the company posted robust quarterly earnings that beat expectations and raised its fiscal 2023 earnings outlook to $13.80 to $14.40 per share. However, the revenue for the quarter was $22.2 billion, which missed the expected revenue of $22.74 billion.

• Earnings per share (EPS): $3.41 vs. $2.71 expected

• Revenue: $22.2 billion vs. $22.74 billion expected

"I am proud of the FedEx team, who delivered outstanding service to customers during our peak season while also making solid progress on our transformation initiatives, we’ve continued to move with urgency to improve efficiency, and our cost actions are taking hold, driving an improved outlook for the current fiscal year,” FedEx CEO, Raj Subramaniam said.

EQUITIES

Wall Street finished in positive territory on Thursday after the biggest US lenders JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and other big banks agreed to contribute USD 30 billion in deposits to First Republic Bank. The markets also received additional buying pressure following the release of stronger-than-expected US housing and jobless claims data. The US weekly jobless claims data showed the unemployment claims fell to 192,000 in the week ended March 11 from 212,000.

OIL

Crude oil prices slightly recovered from the early weekly losses, but oil prices are set to end the week with a loss, largely driven by concern about the economic outlook this year in light of recent bank failures and uncertainty at Credit Suisse. On the other hand, the EIA released a weekly report showing that US crude stockpiles showed a larger build-up than expected.

CURRENCIES

In the currency market, EURUSD recovered back to above 01.0650 supported by the recent improvement in risk sentiment and a softer dollar. During the previous session, the currency pair traded on a volatile note after ECB hiked the rate of Interest by 50 BPS to 3.50% from 3% earlier and the central bank said the Euro Area banking sector was resilient, while the future rate path would depend on incoming data.

GOLD

The safe haven metal sustains the upward trend and investors are expecting that the metal will cross the psychological barrier of $2,000 per ounce in the coming months. However, today gold traders and investors should closely monitor the release of the Michigan US Consumer Sentiment Index and industrial production numbers.

Economic Outlook

On the data front, US building permits increased 13.80% to 1,524M in February and housing starts, a measure of new home construction, rose by 9.8% to 1,450,000 units, the highest in five months, and way above market forecasts of 1.31 million.

Moving ahead today, the important events to watch:

US – Industrial Production: GMT – 13:15

US – Michigan consumer sentiment: GMT – 14:00

Technical Outlook and Review

EURUSD: For today, 1.0620 is the immediate support level, followed by 1.0600. If the pair breaks below 1.0600, the slump will quickly extend toward the 1.0570 mark. On the flip side, the bullish breakout of 1.0670 is likely to push the index into a new trading zone, which may offer further buying opportunities until 1.0700/10.

The important levels to watch for today: Support- 1.0620 and 1.0590 Resistance- 1.0680 and 1.0700.

GOLD: For today, the immediate resistance for gold near $1938 break this and close above this resistance level then expects the market to zoom up to $1943/45. On the other hand, if it breaks below the $1926 level, will open the doors to $1922 and $1918 levels.

The important levels to watch for today: Support- 1926 and 1918 Resistance- 1938 and 1943.

Quote of the day – Beginners focus on analysis, but professionals operate in a three-dimensional space. They are aware of trading psychology their own feelings and the mass psychology of the markets. Alexander Elder