by Chris Becker
An unusual CPI/PPI print in China has sent the Yuan and Chinese stock markets down, with the Yen also battling against a stronger USD – good for Japanese stocks but not anywhere else. Other currencies and markets in general are pre-positioning for tonights ECB meeting where Super Mario is probably going to keep QE going for now..and awhile longer, even as German CPI – the only inflation measure the ECB cares about – ticks up.
The Shanghai Composite is off nearly 1% going into the close, down to 3216 points, only just above local support at 3200 level. The Hang Seng Index is worse off, down 1.2% to 23496, still below the 24000 points resistance level and dicing with the daily ATR support level at 23500:
Japanese stock traders pressed the buy button as Yen sold off against USD, pushing the Nikkei up 0.3% to finish at 19,318 points. The four hourly chart for USDJPY shows the the bounce of recent ATR support with momentum remaining positive and heading up to almost the 115 handle:
S&P futures are holding on – just to their recent bottom. Tonight should see a bounce but depends on energy prices and the direction of the ECB:
The ASX200 had another mixed day, pushed down by flailing commodity stocks, finishing off 0.3% to 5741 points. BHP lost a whopping 5% while RIO was down over 2% as the 5800 point resistance zone remains a target too far for now.
After breaking down last night the Aussie dollar fell a little further, touching the 75 handle briefly before bouncing back meekly. Unless the low moving average is taken out soon we could be in for further falls:
The data calendar will focus squarely on the ECB monthly meeting tonight with nothing much going on or cared about outside the continent!