A slowdown but not a cessation of selling activity in stocks across the region today, with currency and bond markets closely watching the Yuan fix for stability. The RBA meeting was a fizz but the Australian dollar leapt higher, while gold took a very small breather after its big surge overnight.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite continues in free fall, now down 1.5% going into the close at 2777 points while the Hang Seng Index is only off by 1%, recovering somewhat later in the session to be at 25885points. This keeps it just above the January lows at 25000 points:
Japanese share markets have only fallen about half as much, helped by a weaker Yen finally, with the Nikkei 225 off by 0.6% to 20585 points. The USDJPY pair has bounced back above the 106 handle after some stability in the Yuan fix, but there’s a lot of resistance overhead:
The ASX200 was the big casualty today however, walloped by a 2.5% loss down to 6478 points as everything sold off although strangely Fortescue rallied even as the iron ore price continued to fall. With no help from the RBA or the trade surplus figures, the Australian dollar remains depressed below the 68 handle and on a nice downward trajectory:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures are relatively flat, down only 0.1% on the continent with the potential to cease the dumping of stocks lifting. The S&P500 four hourly chart is showing a tentative bottom, bouncing off of 2800 points, but this is early days yet:
The economic calendar is relatively quiet tonight with German factory orders the only one on the radar.