by Chris Becker
The mood remains dour here in Asia with most stock markets on the decline alongside the USD, with the volatility still prevalent in precious metals as we head into the next FOMC meeting. Gold is firming but steady at the $1950USD per ounce level after almost hitting $2000 on the spot price while Bitcoin is starting to break out again above the $11000 level:
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite is surging on bargain buying, up more than 2% into the close to 3293 points, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index has rebounded nearly 0.4% to 24868 points. Japanese stocks have slipped further this time, with the Nikkei 225 closing 1.1% lower to 22397 points. The USDJPY pair is not finding any love at all, now making a new session low as it breaks below the 105 level:
The ASX200 is clinging on just above the 6000 point level, finishing 0.2% lower to 6006 points, as the latest CPI print puts in a record decline but this meant almost nothing, particularly to the Australian dollar. The Pacific Peso is on track to break its previous weekly high just below 72 cents as USD weakens:
Eurostoxx futures are down over 0.6% while S&P futures are equally soft, almost back to the Monday morning gap open just above key support at the 3200 point level. Wall Street remains poised here and bears watching for any further falls below that level this week:
