As the United States votes to turn itself into the Republic of Gilead, Asian stock markets continue to be unsure of direction in the wake of a possibly locked US Congress as the recent spike in COVID cases in China also weighs on sentiment. The USD is slightly higher against some of the currency majors but its all relative given the huge moves following last week’s US jobs figure print with Euro still above parity as the Australian dollar has again retraced below the 65 handle. Oil prices are slightly off with Brent crude just below the $95USD per barrel level while gold is down slightly from its big surge overnight, currently at the $1709USD per ounce level:
Mainland Chinese share markets are still pulling back with the recent inflation print underwhelming, as the Shanghai Composite look set to finish down 0.4% to 3052 points while the Hang Seng Index has slumped again, down more than 1.4% to remain above the 16000 point level at 16322 points. Japanese stock markets are also hesistant to keep adding on here, with the Nikkei 225 closing 0.6% lower at 27697 points, while the USDJPY pair has stabilised but is looking very weak here under the 146 handle:
Australian stocks finished broadly positive as expected with the ASX200 closing 0.5% higher, only one point shy of breaking into the 7000 point level to finish at 6999 points. The Australian dollar just can’t push through the 65 handle with a series of tight candles on the four hourly chart running out of upside momentum here with the October high position above seemingly out of reach in the wake of the hawkish Fed:
Eurostoxx and US futures are trying to lift higher but are still facing internal resistance as we head into the London session with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing price action still bunched up around the 3800 point level. This market is still somewhat contained and below the recent uptrend line, unlike other bourses so watch for a breakout above 3800 points and trailing ATR resistance before getting too excited here:
The economic calendar is quiet again with all eyes on the US mid terms.