Risk is on as markets gets excited over.......>

FOREX: Risk is on as markets gets excited over Corona cure

- Markets had a relatively sanguine start to the session before a firm jolt of

price action followed a slew of positive stories on Coronavirus. Namely, a

report that animal testing for a vaccine in the UK is due to begin, positive

drug test results in Wuhan itself as well as an unsubstantiated report that an

"effective" drug treatment has been found all supported sentiment. The main

beneficiaries were AUD and CNH while haven FX fell, with JPY and CHF the poorest

performers. USD/JPY hit a new multi-week high in response, touching Y109.72.

- GBP gained on a decent beat for the final reading of UK services PMI, with the

release suggesting that the remaining submissions were particularly strong. This

prompted markets to further price out the likelihood of easing from the Bank of

England this year, further supporting GBP into the NY crossover.

- US ADP employment change, December trade balance data and non-manufacturing

ISM are all on the docket. ECB's Lane, Lagarde, BoC's Wilkins and Fed's Brainard

are all due to speak.