Asian stock markets advanced outside of China as the PBOC substantially lowered the fix of the Yuan which saw it strengthen a lot in offshore trading, now down to 6.87 making a new monthly low. The three main Asian undollars – Aussie, Kiwi and Yen – all fell back against the USD as result.
Chinese stocks are absorbing the Yuan rise with the Shanghai Composite slipping going into the close, currently down about 0.2% to 3109 points, while the Hang Seng Index has fallen 0.3% to close at 28862 points, still very well supported:
Japanese share markets reopened after a long weekend with the Nikkei 225 advancing due to a much weaker Yen, closing 0.7% higher to 24025 points. The selloff in Yen has seen the USDJPY pair move significantly past its 2019 highs where its now breached the 110 handle:
The ASX200 was the best in the region, nearly closing at 7000 points by lifting some 0.8% to 6962 points. A steady Aussie dollar has helped here where its been unable to exceed the 69 handle since the start of the trading week as this long swing trade reverts to the downside:
Both S&P and Eurostoxx futures are suggesting another blip higher tonight, pushing prices to further record highs:
The economic calendar livens up a little with the latest US CPI print.