A mixed day here in Asia with most stock markets treading water as everyone awaits the outcome of the ongoing US/ China trade talks plus the possibility of another Trump shutdown later in the week.
The Shanghai Composite finally put in a scratch session after riding a big wave all week, closing just a few points lower to 2719. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index closed 0.25% lower, but is still well above 28000 points with the uptrend well intact:
US and Eurostoxx futures are looking better with the S&P 500 looking to break out above the series of highs on the four hourly chart, making a run for 2800 points:
Japanese stock markets tread water as well, despite the lower Yen, with the Nikkei 225 closing flat at 21138 points. A weaker Yen is still pushing the USDJPY pair higher but only just above the 111 handle as momentum wanes slightly. There is continued upside here to least at 112 or even 114:
The ASX200 was the weakest in the region again, as the poor Telstra profit result and a flailing AMP share price sent the bourse down to close at 6059 points. The Australian dollar lifted slightly to be back above the 71 handle but did not make a new high so this still looks like short covering going on after finding a temporary bottom at the January lows:
The economic calendar has several major releases to keep an eye on tonight, namely German and EZ wide 4Q GDP prints, then US retail sales numbers for December.