EURUSD trade in a 110 pip range yesterday, with a high of 1.2662 and a low of 1.2552. US equities had a very strong session, rising from start to finish and up more than 3% on a daily basis. A bullish forecast from State Street that raised expectations for the upcoming earnings season was put forward as a driver for the optimistic sentiment of investors. Asian stocks improved as well. Dow Jones Industrial Average gained a staggering 274 points, climbing above the 10,000 mark, with a close price of 10,018.28. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ each gained 3.13%, closing at 1,060.27 and 2,159.47 respectively.

There are many data releases today. In Europe, German Trade Balance was released this morning, below forecasts at 10.6B, compared with 13.4B previously. The French Government Budget Balance was released at -67.9B. Later today, German Industrial Production will be released, currently forecasted at a 0.8% increase. The most important data of the day in Europe is the Minimum Bid Rate which is followed by the ECB Press Conference. There is currently no indication that the rate will be changed, as it most likely will remain at 1.00%. With the ECB pausing for breath after taking extraordinary action to respond to the euro zone debt crisis, all 76 economists recently polled by Reuters expected the ECB to keep interest rates at their record low of 1.0 percent. The European Central Bank will face pressure on Thursday to say whether Europe-wide stress tests on banks will be tough enough to convince markets of their worth but is likely to offer little beyond soothing words. In the US, Unemployment Claims are to be announced, as current forecasts are positive at 461K, which would be an improvement from last week’s release at 472K. Consumer Credit is expected to worsen to -1.9B from the prior release at 1.0B.