A bad end to the week here in Asia, with the Australian dollar looking like the worst casualty, selling off quite smartly against USD, Yen, even Kiwi in reaction to the RBA’s monetary policy statement. Chinese stocks continue to fall in light of ongoing trade war tensions while emerging currencies like the Turkish Lira are also feeling the heat.
The Shanghai Composite is off slightly, down 0.2% going into the close, currently at 2788 points, unable to finish the week above previous support at 2800. The Hang Seng Index is off nearly 1% to 28349 points, still just above previous terminal support at 28000 point but unable to make any headway as we close out the week:
S&P futures are down 0.5% alongside Eurostoxx as USD volatility weighs on equities. This is a quick retracment to support at 2840 points that could have legs if the USD surge continues:
Japanese stocks are the worst in the region as Yen safe haven buying outweighs the return to USD strength. The Nikkei 225 closed 1.1% lower at 22345 points, still unable trying to get out of its sideways move on the daily chart. The USDJPY pair has come back slightly in the late Asian session, briefly touching the 111 handle. This still looks weak, with the high moving average not under any pressure here and the downtrend line still respected:
The ASX200 fell back slightly, closing 0.3% lower to close at 6278 points, still unable to breach overhead resistance at 6300 as buying support below starts to wane. The Aussie dollar is getting slaughtered here on the SOMP, heading straight down to the 73 handle, wiping all of the last month’s tentative buying support:
The economic calendar finishes the week with a busy schedule, with Q2 UK GDP first up, then Canadian unemployment, followed by the latest US CPI print.
Have a good weekend and manage that risk!