by Chris Becker
Asia ends the week with a rally in stock markets outside China while the USD reversed its recent bounceback as Yen and Aussie dollar also lifted. Gold also rose but only slightly as other commodities cooled off.
In mainland China the Shanghai Composite is having another pause, up a few points going into the close at 3388 points, still rejecting that key resistance level at 3400 points. The Hong Kong based Hang Seng Index is putting in a scratch session to be at 28456 points, but still above local resistance at the 28000 point level and looking to break higher:
S&P futures are relatively steady going into a triple threat of economic calendar events tonight:
Japanese stocks continue to do well despite the stronger Yen with the Nikkei up nearly 1% to close at 21152 with no blowoff as I expected. The USDJPY pair is now in full meltdown mode heading straight down to the 112 handle after falling last night. I’m targeting the 112 handle proper for a breakdown where 108 is the target on the daily and weekly charts:
The ASX200 has closed out the week above 5800 points and staying well above the 200 day moving average in what is setting up for a move higher next week. The Aussie dollar is still surprising to the upside with another blip higher through the session, now above the 78.30 level, having breached overhead resistance:
The data calendar ends the week with a trio of very important releases from the US, namely the September CPI, Retail Sales and the Uni of Michigan confidence figures.