by Chris Becker
A mixed day here in Asia as the overnight positive lead from the US did not translate to new highs with mixed reactions to China’s trade balance figures. Oil slipped while gold rose as bonds were relatively unchanged, alongside currencies.
In mainland China the Shanghai Composite has closed up only 2 points higher to 3281 as it tries again to get up to and breach the next obvious resistance at the 3300 point level. The Hong Kong based Hang Seng Index is up another 0.4%, as it advances its rally even further:
The Nikkei however was pushed 0.3% lower as the Yen strengthned slightly against USD as it crossed back below the 20,000 point level. The USDJPY pair has slipped down to the 110.60 level, just on the low moving average level as it remains unable to breach overhead ATR resistance at the 111 handle:
S&P futures are down 0.1% leading into tonights session:
The ASX200 has taken back its good start to the week with the index down 0.5% to 5743 points pn the bank of the ANZ consumer sentiment and NAB business Survey prints. CBA dropped 1% on the lame news to its reaction to the Austrac money laundering scandal, while James Hardie (JHX) dropped nearly 6% on a cautious outlook.
The Aussie dollar is again struggling to find buyers as it continues to respect the downtrend line from last week’s high. The 79 handle continues to beckon here:
The data calendar continues tonight is very quiet again, with the German trade balance figures for June the only one of note to watch.