Macro Afternoon

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Stocks in Asia remain unsettled as traders await Fed Chair Powell’s testimony to Congress tonight, with some optimism sneaking through particularly locally as the Australian dollar goes lower again. Currency markets are also mixed, with the Euro steady while Pound Sterling is selling off going into the City open, while the Aussie and Kiwi remain under pressure.

The Shanghai Composite just can’t get any traction, falling again and down 0.25% to 2921 points going into the close. The Hang Seng Index has come back however after five straight lower sessions, closing 0.3% higher to 28205 points, still below the previous set of highs at 28500 but at least isn’t going any lower with support firming at 28000:

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Japanese share markets are joining in on the poor mood, with the Nikkei 225 taking back the previous gains to be down 0.15% at 21533 points. The USJDPY pair is very slowly extending its gains but remains under the 109 handle going into the European session:

The ASX200 has also bounced back after the previous scratch session, up 0.3% to 6689 points, still not getting any help by the falling Australian dollar. The Aussie fell this time on the Westpac consumer confidence print, now heading back to the 69 handle:

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S&P and Eurostoxx futures are flat with the S&P500 four hourly chart suggesting a possible bounceback to the previous highs but momentum remains mixed:

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The economic calendar will focus squarely on Fed Chairman Powell’s testimony in Congress tonight but also includes the Canadian central bank meeting and the latest DOE oil inventory report.