A weaker than expected CPI print saw the Australian dollar fall sharply today with only the ASX200 rising amid a sea of uncertainty on other Asian bourses. The volatile Yen is keeping Japanese markets at bay, while Chinese stocks are also treading water.
The Shanghai Composite has closed with a scratch session, up only 3 points but still remaining under the 3200 point barrier, while the Hang Seng Index is off 0.4% to 29831 points, still below its own 30,000 barrier and looking weak again. The next level to watch is the daily low moving average line which is playing short term support:
US and Eurostoxx futures are down slightly, despite the good mood on Wall Street overnight with the four hourly chart of the S&P 500 showing the September 2018 high as staunch resistance to beat:
Japanese stock markets have fallen back as the uptrend in Yen firms with the Nikkei 225 losing 0.2% to finish at 22200 points exactly. The USDJPY pair has been unable to make any new four hourly session highs and remains below the 112 handle with a downtrend now clearly evident:
Australian stocks are the best performers again due to the big selloff in the Australian dollar with the ASX200 closing nearly 1% higher to be at 6382 points – who said stocks are a good inflation hedge? The Australian dollar fell sharply after being anchored somewhat at the 71 handle but lost nearly 70 pips on the CPI print, with more falls to be expected here as the RBA hand is forced:
The economic calendar continues with the German IFO business survey, followed by the Canadian central bank latest meeting plus the latest DOE oil inventory report.