Australian, NZ Dollars Higher On Massive Fiscal Stimulus

The Australian and New Zealand dollars advanced against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday amid risk appetite, as Reuters reported citing sources that China is likely to unleash trillions of yuan of fiscal stimulus to counter the effects of the coronavirus.

The Federal Reserve said it would establish a temporary swap lines with other nine central banks as part of coordinated action to improve liquidity in the financial markets.

In a joint statement, the Fed said it will extend U.S. dollar liquidity arrangements with the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Banco Central do Brasil, the Danmarks Nationalbank, the Bank of Korea, the Banco de Mexico, the Norges Bank, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Sveriges Riksbank.

Massive stimulus measures announced by global central banks and governments to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic boosted investor sentiment.

After the Federal Reserve's fiscal stimulus and the European Central Bank's asset purchase scheme launch on Wednesday, the Bank of England cut its interest rate for the second time this month and expanded its bond buying scheme, extending further support to the UK economy amid the spread of the coronavirus, or COVID-19.

The aussie rose to 0.5909 against the greenback and 65.03 against the yen, from its early lows of 0.5663 and 62.77, respectively. The aussie is seen finding resistance around 0.70 against the greenback and 74.00 against the yen. Reversing from its early lows of 1.8823 against the euro and 0.8230 against the loonie, the aussie edged higher to 1.8179 and 0.8499, respectively. The currency is likely to locate resistance around 1.61 against the euro and 0.90 against the loonie.

The aussie hit a 4-day high of 1.0208 against the kiwi, from a low of 1.0073 set at 6:45 pm ET. On the upside, 1.045 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

The kiwi advanced to 0.5804 against the greenback, 64.00 against the yen and 1.8503 against the euro, off its early lows of 0.5607, 62.14 and 1.9013, respectively. If the kiwi rises further, 0.64, 65.00 and 1.72 are possibly seen as its next resistance levels against the greenback, the yen and the euro, respectively.

Looking ahead, U.K. public sector finance data for February is due in the European session.

Canada retail sales for January and U.S. existing home sales for February are set for release in the New York session.