AUD/USD steadies near 0.7700, looks to post modest daily losses

• AUD/USD lost its traction during the American session.
• US Dollar Index is posting small daily gains above 90.30.
• Wall Street’s main indexes trade mixed on Monday.

The AUD/USD pair advanced higher toward 0.7750 during the European trading hours but pared its gains in the second half of the day. As of writing, the pair was down 0.12% on the day at 0.7708.

DXY stays in the positive territory

With the banks being closed due to the Australia Day holiday on Monday, the USD’s market valuation remained the primary driver of AUD/USD’s movements.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) started the week on the back foot and retreated to 90.20 area. However, a sharp decline witnessed in major equity indexes after the opening bell helped greenback attract investors as a safe haven. The DXY climbed to 90.51 but struggled to preserve its bullish momentum.

At the moment, the S&P 500 is down 0.1% on the day and the Nasdaq Composite is rising 0.16%. Meanwhile, the DXY is clinging to small daily gains at 90.34.

Earlier in the day, the data from the US showed that the Chicago Fed National Activity Index in December improved to 0.52 from 0.31 in November. On a negative note, the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index fell to 7 in January from 10.5 in December. Nevertheless, market participants showed little to no reaction to these figures.

There won’t be any significant macroeconomic data releases featured in the Australian economic docket and the risk perception could continue to impact AUD/USD’s movements.

Technical levels to watch for