Finally a better day on Asian share markets with mixed results to finish the week, as risk sentiment remains very cautious. The USD is falling slightly against the major currencies with gold in particular moving higher while the Australian dollar remaining below 69 cents.
The Shanghai Composite barely moved and finished at 2853 points, while the Hang Seng Index lifted nearly 0.4% higher to 27361 points after yesterday breaking down to a new monthly low. This is nowhere near close enough to call it over with momentum still very oversold:
US and Eurostoxx futures are up slightly, about 0.3% higher in a bout of short covering. The four hourly chart of the S&P500 chart shows a nice bounce off terminal support at the 2800 point level but it remains to be seen if this can be turned into a swing play with significant resistance overhead:
Japanese share markets are down slightly with the Nikkei 225 closing 0.16% lower to 21117 points while the broader TOPIX finished with a scratch session. The USDJPY pair has failed again to push higher and made a new low for the week, now below the mid 109’s:
Australian stocks put in the worst session in the region with the ASX200 falling 0.5% to remain below the 6500 point barrier it burst earlier in the week, closing at 6456 points. The Australian dollar is trying to finish the week on a high note but is still depressed here below the 69 handle:
The economic calendar ends the week with US durable goods orders for April.
Have a good weekend!