Macro Afternoon

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by Chris Becker

Asian stocks are not having a good day in response to the mixed overnight lead absorbing the FOMC minutes fallout. Aussie 10 year yields were firmly bid higher as was the Aussie dollar itself in response to the capex print, while metals and other commodities slid back.

The Shanghai Composite is losing ground as the lunch break heads into the close, down 0.3% or 10 points to be at 3251 points, unable to build on its recent rally. The Hang Seng Index is not doing any better, down 0.4% to be at 24114 points in what looks like a congested top here on the daily chart:

HSI.fsDaily

Japanese stocks are flat again today, even as Yen weakened slightly against USD. The Nikkei closed down a few points to finish at 19371 points in a very muted session. The hourly chart for USDJPY shows how price is being squeezed in a pennant pattern with a series of lower highs and higher lows with the mid point of control to watch at the 113.30 level:

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USDJPYH1

S&P futures are flat with not much on the economic calendar to pre-position for here:

S&P.fsH4
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The ASX200 snapped down quickly on the open, losing over half a percent before recovering somewhat during hte session. The market closed down 0.4% to remain below the crucial 5800 point resistance zone. BHP was a big drag, down nearly 3% while Qantas lifted over 5% after a big first half profit result.

The Aussie dollar retraced quickly on the Sydney open before finding a base at 76.70 or so and then bouncing higher on the capex print. The Pacific Peso remains on its weird bullish trend, supported by research houses all bidding it higher. I’m watching last night’s high to come under stress again tonight:

AUDUSDH1
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The data calendar tonight is relatively quiet with weekly initial jobless claims and monthly house price data from the US.