Macro Afternoon

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A mixed mood in Asia despite the orgy of buying still going on in the northern hemisphere with only Japanese stocks advancing on the whiff of more stimulus measures. Meanwhile the Chinese Yuan hit a new low versus USD again, with offshore trading pushing through the 7.17 handle as other majors kept firm against USD going into the London open after a very mild reversal overnight.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite is set for a small loss, down 0.3% to 2836 points, while the Hang Seng Index has tripped over again due to the big protests in the city, down 1% to 23153 points. This takes it back below previous firm support at the 23300 point level, after a big surge previously with the next stage surely looking down for the embattled city-state:

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Japanese share markets continued their good start to the week with the Nikkei 225 closing 0.7% higher to 2149 points, while the USDJPY pair was able to hold to its current position after a mild reversal overnight, having rebuffed last week’s high at the 107.80 level:

The ASX200 had a strange session, gapping down at the open, recovering and moving to a new high at lunch and then selling off again in the afternoon to post a mild scratch session, finishing 5 points down to 5775. Meanwhile the Aussie dollar was effectively unchanged against the USD, maintaining above the 66 handle and yet to rollover from its extremely overbought position:

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Eurostoxx futures are up only 0.3% or so with US futures also a bit staid as the S&P500 four hourly chart shows the broader stock market wanting to push back above the previous highs and make a run for 3000:

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