by Chris Becker
We have a new Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, a noted dove so that’s sent USD down against the majors in reaction. Asia is having a mixed day in stocks, with only Japanese bourses advancing while sovereign bonds and commodities were relatively quiet leading up to tonights economic calendar, where German unemployment and the BOE interest rate decision will be closely watched.
In mainland China the Shanghai Composite has slumped, falling over half a percent to be at 3377 points, still just below previous resistance at 3400 points, once again rejecting that level. The Hong Kong based Hang Seng Index is also down, but only by 0.2% or so, closing at 28542 points. This seems to be a pause for now as price is gravitating towards the high moving average here on the daily chart:
S&P futures have slipped following the Fed news and the mixed reaction in Asia, but remember to always BTFD!
Japanese stocks have again been the highlight with the Nikkei closing 0.3% higher to 22485 points even as Yen strengthened against USD, as this stock blowoff shows no signs of slowing down. The USDJPY pair retreated to just below the 114 handle as it rejects overheard ATR resistance at the 114.10 level:
The ASX200 basically had a scratch day, losing around 0.1% to finish at 5931 points. The NAB result saw most of the major banks retreat while Fortescue lifted 4% alongside the other iron ore digger-uppers.
The Aussie dollar has swung swiftly through trailing ATR resistance, taking out the 77 handle on what should probably be a short term blip over the new Fed chairman announcement. But never second guess the Aussie bulls!
The data calendar has some big ones tonight, namely the German unemployment rate for October (the only employment measure that matters in Europe) and the BOE monthly meeting. Oh and hopefully some more indictments from Mueller….