A very mixed day here in Asia with most stock markets in retreat mode after what was a stellar start to the Trading Week. The US Congress is set to pass the Senate’s stimulus package on Friday, as traders and indeed everyone watches the growing death toll and case load of COVID-19 let loose in the US, as Trump continues to fumble the handling of the pandemic. This is setting up a very big dead cat bounce for risk markets as the peak is not even reached yet in the continental US while Europe hopefully peaks soon.
The Shanghai Composite looks set to close with a scratch session currently at 2782 points while the Hang Seng Index has fallen about 0.7% or so to 23394 points, unable to keep above above its high moving average on the daily chart and hence still in swing mode only:
Japanese share markets had the steepest falls, after gaining 20% in the last couple of days, the Nikkei 225 closed 4% lower recede back below the 19000 point level. The USDJPY has broken below its ascending triangle pattern, in a very minor but still significant selloff to be at the 110.60 level going into the European session:
The ASX200 was the only market to advance, moving 2.3% higher to finish at 5113 points. Meanwhile the Aussie dollar flopped back below the 60 handle as other risk assets including commodities failed to gain traction overnight with momentum still positive on the four hourly chart but only jsut:
Eurostoxx and S&P futures are falling following the mixed Asian session, with the four hourly S&P futures chart showing the start of a rollover as it failed to get back above the 2500 point level:
The economic calendar includes the latest BOE meeting, but more important will be the initial jobless claims from the US and the latest caseload and death toll overnight, particularly in NY.