A generally negative day here in Asia, unable to translate the positive moood on Wall Street on Friday night as risk begins to crystallize once more despite a clear trajectory in interest rates and the US economy. Trade concerns remain elevated with commodities under pressure while the USD continues to strengthen against everything except the safe haven Yen.
The Shanghai Composite remains in near freefall, down over 1% going into the close, currently at 2702 points, barely holding on as the bear market deepens. The Hang Seng Index is doing a lot better, lifting instead to finish 0.6% higher at 27844 points, but still just below terminal support at 28000 points. Last week’s ominous breakdown on the daily chart remains in play so this is just an aberration for now:
S&P futures are off only slightly while Eurostoxx futures are more upbeat going into London open, up about 0.2% or so. cResistance at last week’s high at the 2845 level is the key area to beat going forward:
Japanese stocks are generally lower with the broader TOPIX down 0.5% while the Nikkei 225 is closing in on a scratch session, closing 0.1% lower at 22507 points, still stuck in a sideways move on the daily chart. The USDJPY pair is the culprit as Yen buyers step in today, pushing the pair back down to trailing ATR support at the 111.20 level on the four hourly chart. This confirms the weaker USD move from Friday night’s NFP print and the series of lower highs suggests more falls if the 111 handle is broken:
The ASX200 was the best in the region, lifting 0.6% as earnings season helps the bourse, closing at 6273 points, ready to tackle overhead resistance at 6300 once more. The Aussie dollar is deflating going into tomorrow’s NFP print, currently just below the 74 handle finding no buyers in todays session and confirming the bearish bias to this sluggish sideways move:
The economic calendar starts the week off slowly with a slew of US Treasury auctions, but not much else.