EUR/JPY fails to benefit from German IFO, muted around 134.00 handle

   •  Upbeat German IFO fails to provide fresh bullish impetus
   •  Thursday’s ECB decision awaited

The EUR/JPY cross lacked any firm directional bias and seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses around the 134.00 handle. 

German IFO surprises positively

The cross consolidated overnight strong gains and had a rather muted reaction to today's better-than-expected German IFO business climate index, coming in at 116.7 points for October as against expectations of 115.2. 

   •  German October IFO business climate surprises positively

Also, the current economic assessment index and the expectations index also bettered expectations but failed to provide any bullish impetus to the shared currency. Investors seemed to refrain from placing aggressive bets and wait for the highly anticipated ECB monetary policy announcement on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, the prevalent cautious sentiment around equity markets was seen lending some support to the Japanese Yen's safe-haven appeal and further collaborated towards keeping a lid on the pair's up-move. 

With the only scheduled German data out of the way, broader market risk sentiment would be looked upon for some short-term trading opportunities ahead of the key event risk. 

Technical levels to watch

Momentum beyond the 134.00 handle is likely to confront resistance near the 134.30-40 region, above which the cross could aim towards reclaiming the key 135.00 psychological mark.

On the downside, 133.70-65 zone is likely to act as immediate support, which if broken could accelerate the slide towards the 133.00 handle and 132.80 horizontal support.