Outside of Japan its been a worry free session on Asian stock markets with a solid start to the trading week as the lower USD amid optimism on lower interest rates keeps things afloat. Wall Street finished on a solid note on Friday night with the USD still under the pump against most currency majors with the Australian dollar crossing above the 70 cent level. Meanwhile oil prices are holding on to their recent gains but not making further headway with Brent crude just below the $85USD per barrel level while gold is going gangbusters after breaking through the $1900USD per ounce level last week, now at $1925 and looking way over-extended:
Mainland Chinese share markets are moving higher with the Shanghai Composite currently up 1.4% to push well above the 3200 point level, currently at 3241 points while the Hang Seng Index is playing catchup, up 0.7% at 21896 points. Japanese stock markets are pulling back sharply as the BOJ tries to shore up the bond market amid a much stronger Yen with the Nikkei 225 currently 1.3% lower at 25777 points with the USDJPY pair still down significantly below the 130 handle as it gaps slightly lower and looks weak heading into the London open:
Australian stocks are holding on to solid gains heading into the close with the ASX200 currently up some 0.7% to 7384 points. The Australian dollar gapped higher on the weekend open this morning, after remaining stable at the 69 cent level last week, now heading above the 70 cent level and remaining somewhat overextended:
Eurostoxx and US futures are slowly lifting higher with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing price action holding just above the 4000 point level with a series of new daily highs turning this breakout into something more sustainable. The uptrend line remain intact here with short term momentum holding at the overbought zone:
The economic calendar starts the trading week slowly due to the US holiday.