Australia: The AUD has opened slightly firmer this morning after some nervousness from traders yesterday ahead of the US reporting season saw the AUD move back towards USD0.8700.

The AUD is currently trading around USD0.8760.

A shaky night on the US equity markets saw it swing between gains and losses with the DOW managing to finish in the black up 0.2%.

The European equity markets were also positive which helped the AUD strengthen. Aloca was the first company to announce its second quarter earnings report which occurred after the close of trade in New York.

The aluminum producer for the June quarter reported a net profit of $136mio which is a massive turnaround from the $454mio loss that was reported this time last year.

With this positive announcement it gives investors hope that this reporting season may indicate that the companies in the US are improving and that the global economic recovery is continuing.

Today during the local session we will see the release of the NAB Business Confidence survey for June and also the lending finance data for May.

Despite these local announcements, it's unlikely that we will see the AUD have any influential movements as the markets look to tonight to see how the US markets have digested Aloca's announcement and further earnings announcements.

Majors: As mentioned above, the US earning announcements are playing an important role in the currency markets at the moment, but investors are also awaiting the release of the European bank stress tests.

The EUR/USD has opened marginally stronger this morning as financial regulators met to discuss how the results of the stress tests will be disclosed.

The EUR/USD is currently trading just below USD1.2600 but it's likely to continue to trade in a fairly tight range until the results of the tests are released. Tonight sees the release of Europe's ZEW Economic Sentiment survey which may see the currency pair push through the recent barriers.

The GBP/USD has fallen this morning after S&P has continued to maintain its negative outlook on the UK's long term credit rating mainly due to its recent emergency budget and its poor economic forecasts.

Provided by Bellfx.com.au