by Chris Becker
Another mixed day of trading in Asia, as the nerds at the ASX work out which switch to pull and what hole to plug things into as most stock markets dance around their point of control. Japanese stocks returned from a national holiday without much fanfare, with the Nikkei 225 losing a few points while in China, the Shanghai Composite remains poised just above terminal support at 3020 points.
SPX futures are pointing to another attempt at upside motion in US stocks overnight, with the four hourly chart showing a series of rising lows that should threaten resistance at the 2140 point area:
The ASX200 closed with a scratch session with mining stocks up as bank stocks retreated slightly. The local market is stuck like other bourses at this crucial juncture before the Federal Reserve FOMC meeting later this week.
Turning to commodities, gold is moving slightly higher on the back of USD’s retreat, up to $1315USD per ounce but key resistance at the $1317-1320 area needs to be overcome to make it stick:
Meanwhile in currencies, the Aussie dollar holding on to previous nights gains, still at 75.40 just before the London session open. It needs to clear 75.60 to make a new two week high to have any hope of momentum going into the Fed meeting:
The data calendar is quiet tonight with US housing starts the only one of note as we build up to the Bank of Japan meeting tomorrow.