Macro Afternoon

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by Chris Becker

The negative lead overnight has turned into a mild selloff across Asia with Australian stocks falling the most after a stonking jobs report sent the Aussie dollar higher.

In mainland China the Shanghai Composite is stable going into the close at 3132 points, still clinging above key support at the 3100 point level. The Hong Kong based Hang Seng Index however is retreating significantly, down nearly 1% and closing below its key low moving average line. This means a possible retracement to ATR support just above 25000 points:

Japanese stocks again fell as the Yen remained strong against USD with the Nikkei 225 losing 0.3% to be at 19831 points, still unable to climb back above] the 20,000 points level. The USDJPY pair is hovering just below the 110 handle with not much movement following last nights US CPI print and FOMC meeting. Traders are awaiting tomorrows BOJ meeting and the speech from Governor Kuroda:

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S&P futures are down slightly as traders maintain the cautious mood:

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The ASX200 reversed all of its previous gains and then some, finishing down 1.2% to 5761 points. This was due to a both a retreat in financials and iron ore majors, with Fortescue off nearly 4% and BHP off over 2%

The Aussie dollar spiked on the jobs report heading above the 76 handle against USD, but the four hourly chart is creating a pennant/symmetrical triangle here with a series of lower highs possibly pointing to this being temporary:

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The data calendar tonight includes the Swiss and BOE central bank meetings plus a slew of second tier US callouts, but the focus will likely be on the ongoing Trump political scandal…