by Chris Becker
Asian markets absorbed the Monday morning gap by selling off stocks slightly, commodities relatively stable while the USD continued to ease against the majors. Pound Sterling lost however as PM Theresa May is preparing for a potential Scottish referendum (Scexit!) while US stock futures are rallying in anticipation of thin skinned US President Trump’s address to Congress.
The Shanghai Composite is falling, down over half a percent after its long lunch break, currently at 3236 points. The Hang Seng Index is also off, down 0.2% to cross below the 24000 points level as the daily chart is presaging what looks like a top here as the low daily moving average comes under threat:
Japanese stocks retreated almost 1% as Yen remained strong against USD. The Nikkei closed down 0.9% to finish just above 19000 points barely holding steady on the daily chart. The hourly chart for USDJPY shows a near flat move throughout the Asian session from the open, slightly firming down to but not through the 112 handle – Mrs Watanabe is still winning here:
S&P futures are the highlight however, surging higher (maybe as traders watch the Oscars?) suggesting a solid open tonight:
The ASX200 had a dour session, finally closing down 0.2% today as energy stocks and financials dragged the bourse down. The market lost 15 points to be at 5724 points, still well below the 5800 point resistance zone.
The Aussie dollar moved higher immediately on the Sydney open, taking back most of its Friday nights losses back up to but not above the 77 handle against USD. This is not far off the 2016 high, so we could be in for a big meltup here:
The data calendar starts a busy week with the important US durable goods order this evening, so watch out USD.