Macro Afternoon

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Asian stock markets end the week on a poor note, having absorbed the Biden inauguration and initial policy reversals, with commodity currencies weaker against USD as gold and silver remain relatively steady. Bitcoin briefly dipped below the $30K level but has had a small boost this afternoon, but is this enough to stave off a wider breakdown:

The Shanghai Composite has pulled back to the 3600 point level, down nearly 0.5% going into the close, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index has reversed course entirely, down over 1.4% as it proves unable to get above the 30000 point level. Japanese markets are slipping in the wake of a higher Yen with the Nikkei 225 finishing some 0.2% lower at 28684 points while the USDJPY pair hovers at the mid 103 handle and still looking very precarious:

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The ASX200 was able to finish dead on the 6800 point level, having lost a handful of points and making a good week, while the Australian dollar is losing momentum going into the London trade, barely hanging on above the 77.40 level and looking set to rollover:

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Eurostoxx and S&P futures are also falling going into tonight’s open, with the four hourly chart of the S&P500 showing a stall above the 3800 point level after looking extremely overbought – could more climate change friendly announcements from Biden later tonight put a stopper to this excitement?

The economic calendar ends the week with a series of flash PMIs across Europe and the US.

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PS. someone said they didn’t like mittens yesterday, so I put in some kittens instead, howzat instead? Notice they aren’t orange either…Have a good weekend!