Macro Afternoon

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Asian share markets have finished the week on a mixed note with Chinese bourses falling in the wake of weaker industrial production growth numbers while gold has spiked to a new monthly high despite a much stronger USD.

Chinese share markets were the main casualties again today with the Shanghai Composite falling nearly 1% to get back below the 2900 point barrier, while the Hang Seng Index continues its retreat, falling another 0.8% to 27078 points. The daily chart is showing price wanting to retest the former lows but there is a small amount of internal buying support holding on:

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Japanese share markets were the odd ones out, with the Nikkei 225 lifting just over 0.4% to close at 21116 points, staving off a new weekly low. This is despite a much stronger Yen with the USJDPY pair heading towards the 108 handle as the risk-off mood widens:

The ASX200 also finished with a positive result, but only just – up 0.18% to 6554 points, capping off a relatively strong week. The Australian dollar however has finally tasted the 68 handle, briefly getting below on the Chinese industrial print, making another monthly low:

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S&P and Eurostoxx futures are flat going into the European open with the four hourly chart of the S&P500 chart still rejecting strong resistance at the psychologically important 2900 point level:

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The economic calendar ends the week with US advanced retail sales and consumer sentiment plus the latest industrial production print.