Overnight markets were directionless and cautious on continued good US dataflow and some minor improvements in EZ data, but stumbled on the Unicredit capital raising and a rush to German bunds again, whilst the ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz tussled commodity markets.
European markets opened flat and slid throughout their session, with both major bourses ending the day in the red. The UK FTSE lost just over 0.5% to finish at 5668 points, whilst the German DAX lost nearly 1% to finish at 6111 points. The Italian FTSE MIB lost over 2%, mainly due to the Unicredit bank slump.
The Euro (EUR/USD) fell back below the “critical” 1.30 level against the USD, falling almost 1% overnight, currently trading at 1.2941, as the USD Index slipped back above the 80 points level, where it appears strong support is gathering around the 79.6 to 80 point region:
US equity markets were flat as a pancake, with volume still 30% less than this time last year. The S&P500 finished flat to 1277 points, the tech heavy NASDAQ also flat at 2648 and the Dow Jones put on a paltry 21 points or 0.17% to 12418. T
The AUD continued its resiliency and proxy for commodities into the new year, and slowly rose above 1.035 against the USD, currently at 1.0364 and just crossing over 80 cents against the Euro.
WTI crude was up slightly to $103.48 USD a barrel, with Brent crude also up to be over $113 USD per barrel.
More buyers were found for gold, where Citibank analysts have called the bottom, jumping over $1600USD or half a percent to be at $1613USD before the opening of the Asian session (Sydney then Hong Kong on the spot markets). The shiny metal is still below its 200 day moving average (a closely watched long term average for traders) with resistance at $1620 still to be cleared before a bullish signal eventuates:
The Aussie SPI Futures point to a lower open for the S&P/ASX200 index, currently down approx. 14 points, probably opening around the 4170 points level.
Trading Day will cover the Asian market session and the “ASX8” stocks after the close in the afternoon.