A very mixed end to the trading week here in Asia with mainland Chinese stocks advancing while the rest of the region stumbled following the impact of the stimulus from the ECB overnight.
The Shanghai Composite lifted 0.25% but has been unable to finish the week above 3000 points while the Hang Seng Index fell sharply, down 0.6% to 28407 points. This put it back below the recent set of highs at 28500 as the market moves back towards a more cautious mood:
Japanese share markets retreated despite a much weaker Yen overnight with the Nikkei 225 closing 0.4% lower to 21658 points. The USDJPY pair hasn’t moved in the Asian session since its huge breakout last night, still hovering at the 108.70 level with all eyes on tonight’s GDP print in the US likely to be a catalyst:
The ASX200 finished just below the 6800 point barrier by falling 0.4% in sympathy with overnight markets, closing the week out at 6793 points. The Australian dollar wasn’t much help despite cascading into the very low 69’s against the USD, treading a new weekly low that has unwound almost all of the previous rally:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures are flat going into the European session with the S&P500 four hourly chart still showing a wishy washya desire to break out above last week’s Friday highs and have another crack at the previous high near 3020 points:
The economic calendar ends the week with a big one – 2Q US GDP. Have a good weekend, stay safe and profitable!