A slightly positive result across Asian share markets today, with the USD weakening against everything except Yuan, which fell slightly due to the PBOC fix. Japanese stocks rose despite the firmer Yen, while the Aussie was helped by a surprise boost in consumer confidence, as local stocks finally stabilised.
The Shanghai Composite is up only a few points going into the close, currently up 0.1% to 2724 points. The Hang Seng Index is doing much better, up 0.7% at just above 26350 points, trying to find a bottom as it remains close to the previous low:
US markets were the weakest link overnight, with S&P and Eurostoxx futures up only slightly. The four hourly S&P 500 chart shows a steady sideways pattern after the breakdown last week, so watch for a 2890 point upside break:
Japanese stocks did better than expected with the Nikkei 225 rising 0.1% to 23498 points, barely holding on to daily support. The USDJPY pair remained in a tight range, just staying above the 113 handle going into the London session, where the pattern is now morphing into a bearish descending triangle on the four hourly chart:
The ASX200 has closed about 8 points or 0.15% higher to 6049 points, also barely hanging on to support as the daily chart suggests a fall back to 6000 points proper. The Aussie dollar continues its rally, bursting through the 71 handle, which I did not expect this much upside, breaking above trailing ATR resistance. The next price level to beat is 71.60 or so, but momentum is well overcooked here, so I’m watching the lower timeframes for any suggestion of a reversal:
The economic calendar is relatively quiet again with a few speeches from Fed officials and some second tier UK data.