Another uneasy session across Asia today as risk markets absorb the shellacking on Wall Street overnight, with the latest news about Ukraine keeping everyone jittery as we head into the weekend. The USD was mixed against the major currency pairs with the Aussie dollar holding below the 72 handle while Yen safe haven buying slowed down a little. Bitcoin continues to selloff, now below the $41K level while gold is just holding on to its overnight gains at the $1890USD per ounce level, now well above the previous near six month high:
Mainland Chinese shares are mixed going into the close with the Shanghai Composite up 0.3% to 3478 points while the Hang Seng Index is losing ground again, down 0.4% to 24679 points. Japanese stock markets are also pulling back with the Nikkei 225 finishing 0.3% lower to close at 27151 points, while the USDJPY pair is trying to bounce off of its recent session lows, pipping just above the 115 handle as traders weigh up the breakdown from overnight:
Australian stocks were the worst in the region, as the ASX200 lost 1% to finish the week at 7221 points while the Australian dollar went nowhere, sitting just below the 72 handle with a lot of resistance building overhead as we head into the London open and still unable to clear the previous weekly high against USD:
Eurostoxx and Wall Street futures have lifted a little higher as we head into the London open, with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing price barely above the previous support/resistance zone and the key psychological 4400 point level that was broken last night, heralding a major correction:
The economic calendar finishes the week on a very quiet note – maybe a little too quiet as Putin hunts wabbits – with some UK retail sales data the only item of interest.