Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap, as the Greek debt-swap deal was finally completed today. Next, Portugal, Spain and Italy. And Ireland?
Let’s forget those negative waves for now and focus on something righteous: the local market, the S&P/ASX200 surged towards the close, up 1% to 4210 points. It seems that support at around 4100 points only the weekly charts is holding, but as always, I like to wait for Saturday morning – after the Friday evening US/Euro session – to make my call.
I’ll update on my “Trading Week” post tomorrow after Weekend Links – here was last week’s, to keep this daily noise in context.
Onto to the other Asian markets, are currently stronger, possibly on rumours of a reduction in the reserve ratio for Chinese banks, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 1.7% – again – to 9965 points, and actually peeked (peaked?) above the 10,000 points barrier intraday:
The volatile Hang Seng up nearly 1% to 21093 points alongside the Shanghai Composite, also up nearly 1% to 2439 points, still above its breakout from its long term downtrend channel.
The release of the “surprising” trade balance figures sent the AUD falling slightly, before recovering late in the afternoon to remain above 1.06 against the USD, just below its short term resistance levels.
Gold had a modest Asian session, moving up slightly to around $1704USD per ounce and at $1601AUD per ounce.
The ASX8
Regular readers will know I follow the ASX8 (the top four banks and miners) on a daily basis, as they are effectively a big proxy for the entire market – the Houses and Holes. Add Telstra (TLS) and you’ve pretty much covered the major stars (or dogs, depending on your point of view) of the market.
I’ll be posting my thoughts on all 8 (9, well 12 if you count the index and Woolies and Wesfarmers, okay let’s call it the ASX12?) in my Trading Week post tomorrow.
The Futures
The futures are looking mixed going into the European session, possibly on the news of the poor Chinese data avalanche covered earlier by Zarathustra. US and Euro markets are likely to open slightly higher, but just a few points, whilst the local market has slipped 5 points to around 4200 points. The data tonight centres completely around US non-farm payroll and unemployment numbers – a miss is likely to surprise markets, who are expecting continuing falls in job losses.
Let’s see what happens in Trading Week tomorrow, and have a good weekend!
Disclaimer: The content on this blog should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, including advertisements, shall not be construed as a recommendation, no matter how much it seems to make sense, to buy or sell any security or financial instrument, or to participate in any particular trading or investment strategy. The authors have no position in any company or advertiser reference unless explicitly specified. Any action that you take as a result of information, analysis, or advertisement on this site is ultimately your responsibility. Consult someone who claims to have a qualification before making any investment decisions.