It should’ve been a much more positive session here in Asia today given the new record high in US stocks overnight, but both Chinese and Japanese markets are subdued, with US-China talks not looking as hopeful. The USD has rebounded slightly, particularly against the Aussie. Tonight will see renewed focus on the Loonie and Mexican Peso has Trump re-negotiates NAFTA in his usual successful style.
The Shanghai Composite has paused its rebound, currently down a few points at 2770 going into the close, unable to make further gains as it heads up towards stronger resistance at the 2800 point level. The Hang Seng Index is doing better, building on yesterday’s big move higher, up approx. 0.3% to 28343 points, maintaining its position well above previous terminal support at 28000 points as it breaks out above the overhead downtrend line:
S&P futures are stalled here after advancing too fast overnight with Eurostoxx only up 0.1% as markets re-assess the ebullient mood:
Japanese stocks have also stalled even as Yen weakens against USD, with the Nikkei 225 closing with a scratch session at 22813 points, unable to build on its previous solid positive momentum. The USDJPY pair has moved higher above the 111 handle after last nights slight retracement back to support, but it’s still not lookin strong here with overhead resistance at the 111.40 level weighing:
The ASX200 was the standout instead of the laggard today, as stocks reacted positively to the Wall Street lead, closing some 0.6% higher at 6304 points, just above key resistance at 6300. The Aussie dollar helped here a little, falling slightly against the majors, with the AUDUSD coming back slowly to the 73 handle proper as it’s been unable to breach overhead resistance at 73.70:
The economic calendar continues tonight with US Advanced Goods plus Case/Shiller house price indices.