by Chris Becker
A subdued but generally green day across Asian markets, as traders position themselves for tonight FOMC meeting where the Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates. The oil price retreated on the back of a lower inventories in the US and no follow through from OPEC, while currencies were relatively quiet as USD remains strong against the majors.
The Shanghai Composite was doing okay until the lunch break, now down 0.5% to 3140 points – a crucial level it must hold or this will slip into a rout down to stronger support at 3000 points. The Hang Seng is doing better, up 0.3% on oil stocks rising, but is a very unconvincing session as the daily chart below shows:
In Japan, the Nikkei and Topix finally paused their spectacular rises, both putting in scratch sessions as the Yen goes nowhere. The USDJPY pair is stuck at the 115 handle, ready to break on the back of the upcoming Fed Meeting:
S&P Futures remain solid heading into the London open, with my view to expect the unexpected going into the Fed meeting – and anymore nutty Cabinet postings from his Trumpiness:
The ASX200 was the standout, rallying 0.7% mainly on the back of Tatts Group which is being taken over, but it was really the big gamblers – Megabank – which pushed the bourse up to 5584 points – almost above its recent high.
The Aussie dollar is still trying to get above 75 cents against USD, rejecting that price level during the Asian session as we await the Fed:
The data calendar is focused on one thing and one thing only – the Fed! Everybody is expecting the Fed to raise rates and start the move to interest rate normalcy.
To be careful though, my 100% reliable indicator – guaranteed epic volatility when I’m on holidays (I’m writing this next to a pool with beer in hand) – may come into play this evening – good luck!