The Philly Fed factory index survey printed far better than expected in April, coming in at -24.4 versus -35 anticipated. Every major sub component showed improvement with future index rising to 36.2 vs. 14.5 new orders climbing to -24.3 from -40.7 and employment at -44.9 versus 52.0.

The EUR/USD rallied through the 1.3300 level in early European session on the back of better that expected IFO results, but couldn’t hold that level for long as profit taking pushed equities lower and curbed some of the risk appetite that dominated overnight trade. The IFO survey of business climate surprised to the upside printing at 83 versus 81 forecast while the current assessment component also beat expectations coming in at 86.8 versus 85 projected.

The IFO survey of business climate surprised to the upside printing at 83 versus 81 forecast while the current assessment component also beat expectations coming in at 86.8 versus 85 projected. Although the current assessment reading was actually worse than the month prior, reflecting the deteriorating conditions in the manufacturing sector, the overall IFO report suggested that at least for the time being sentiment amongst European business leader appears to have stabilized.

US Leading indicators shocked to the upside, rising 0.3% against a forecast of -0.2% decline. This was the first positive print for the index in six months as a rebound in financial components outweighed the losses from increased jobless claims and stock market declines.