A solid if subdued session to end the week here in Asia with all stock markets advancing, the highlight being the ASX200 which is playing catch up after being left behind for most of the week.
In mainland China the Shanghai Composite has continued its advance lifting 0.4% to be just below resistance at 3400 points, setting up for a big breakout next week. The Hang Seng Index is inching along, only up a few points to be at 30781 as it eases off the throttle a little bit from this commodity led rally:
S&P futures are effectively unchanged but we should see some further advance tonight due to the NFP print:
Japanese stocks are up the most with the Nikkei 225 making good on its new decade highs, up 0.7% to be at 23,672 points. The USDJPY pair has matched its overnight high just below the 113 handle, ready for further advances as momentum goes positive on the four hourly chart:
The ASX200 has finally broken free, bursting through the 6100 point level to close 0.7% higher at 6122 points. Both bank stocks and miners pushed the bourse higher with iron ore majors up strongly, Fortescue up over 3%
The Aussie dollar has come back slightly against the USD on the back of the blowout in the trade figures , but is still finding a lot of intraday support here above the 78 handle. This trend remains strong and the bulls are still in charge:
The economic calendar finishes the week with two heavy hitters, EZ-wide CPI for December plus the US non-farm payroll (NFP or unemployment) print for the same period.