Asian stocks were relatively mixed with the near flat US lead overnight not providing the oomph necessary to push risk along. Westpac’s independent raising of its variable home rate saw the Aussie dollar fall in late trade, while the other majors are also slowly been reeled in by King Dollar going into the European open.
The Shanghai Composite is slipping here, unable to make good on its recent rebound, closing 0.3% lower to 2769 points as it rejects stronger resistance at the 2800 point level. The Hang Seng Index is doing better, up approx. 0.2% to 28388 points, maintaining its position well above previous terminal support at 28000 points as it has a quick look above the overhead downtrend line:
S&P futures are also stalled here with Eurostoxx retracing about 0.1% as markets re-assess the ebullient mood, but that four hourly chart is looking quite bullish:
Japanese stocks continue to stall here with the Nikkei 225 lifting only very so slightly, up 0.15% to close at 22848 points.. The USDJPY pair remains slightly above the 111 handle but again its hitting and rejecting overhead resistance at the 111.40 level. Tight support and resistance at the low and high moving averages on the four hourly chart will provide breakout opportunities here:
The ASX200 soared, lifting straight above key resistance at 6300 that had been an anchor for so long, closing 0.7% higher at 6352 points. The fall in the Aussie dollar helped here, dipping straight to the 73 handle proper as it completely rejected overhead resistance at the 73.70 level.
The economic calendar continues with several important releases tonight. In Europe it’s German consumer confidence, then in the US we’ve got pending home sales, the latest DOE oil inventories plus the 2Q GDP print.