Another sea of red on Asian markets again as the lack of a lead from the US and continued concern over rising interest rates keep risk off the table. The PBOC raised the Yuan reference rate again, sending offshore Yuan closer to the 7 handle, while other undollar currencies are basically unchanged from last night’s action.
The Shanghai Composite was the standout by closing in the green – but only just, up 0.1% after yesterdays big wipeout, closing at 2721 points. The Hang Seng Index moved about the same and remains depressed here at the just above 26200 points. This keeps it near the previous low, so there maybe more downside potential here if the low breaks:
US markets reopen tonight with Eurostoxx futures up slightly as concern mounts over the Italian financial situation. The four hourly S&P 500 chart shows the break late last week, still down at a two weekly low and somewhat oversold, with a potential bullish falling wedge pattern pointing to a recovery, so watch about 2894 points or so:
Japanese stocks reopened with the Nikkei gapping lower in response to the firmer Yen, falling 1.3% to 23469 points. The USDJPY pair remained in a tight range, just staying above the 113 handle going into the London session, where it could break either way with a symmetrical triangle forming on the hourly and four hourly chart:
The ASX200 is again selling off, closing nearly 1% lower to 6041 points, now definitely unable to get back above former support now resistance at the 6200 point level. The Aussie dollar continues a small but expected rally , still below the 71 handle, but any upside here would be a risky and limited swing trade:
The economic calendar is quiet again tonight with a series of US Treasury auctions the only event of note to watch for.