A sea of green across Asian stock markets this afternoon but not so for the Australian dollar which continues to stumble as Governor Lowe this morning was unable to outline a clear scenario for when rate cuts will stop. Currency markets are awaiting tonights ECB meeting plus any further fallout from Boris Johnson’s cabinet culling, as the UK swelters under enormous heat…
Chinese stocks are positive and in lockstep with both the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng Index advancing around 0.4%, the former up to 2934 while the latter is hovering around 28611 points. This put it slightly above the recent set of highs at 28500 as the market moves into a slightly bullish mood, but overall the trend remains sideways despite the lift in sentiment:
Japanese share markets had an okay day with only minor advances towards the end, with the Nikkei 225 closing only 0.22% higher at 21756 points. The USDJPY pair continues its stall pattern with a series of slightly lower four hourly highs keeping it just above the 108 handle but ripe for an inversion – watch momentum:
The ASX200 had another very solid showing despite falls in iron ore darlings like BHP (off 2%) and RIO (off 4.5%) as spot prices move lower, as banks fill the void to take the market to another record high, up 0.6% to 6818 points. The Australian dollar helped here as it continued its selloff to be well below the 70 handle and key support levels going into the City open:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures are up at least 0.5% going into early trade with the S&P500 four hourly futures showing a desire to break out above last week’s Friday highs and have another crack at the previous high near 3020 points:
The economic calendar continues tonight with three critical releases, first the ECB monthly meeting, then US durable goods and trade balance figures. A busy night, for sure…