Wall Street returned from its long weekend and didn’t make much of a dent on risk markets which were more dominated by European news as Euro fell back on rumours the ECB may ease off on its next rate rise. The USD was largely unchanged against other majors although Pound Sterling saw a lift while the Australian dollar remained just below 70 cent level. US bond markets reopened with 10 year Treasury yields rising slightly to 3.55% while the commodity complex saw oil prices lift with Brent crude pushing through the $86USD per barrel level for a new weekly high. Gold moderated again with only a minor loss to finish around the $1908USD per ounce level.
Looking at share markets in Asia from yesterday’s session where mainland Chinese share markets retraced a little with the Shanghai Composite down 0.1% but still above the 3200 point level, finishing at 3224 points while the Hang Seng Index was off nearly 1% at one stage but eventually finished 0.7% lower at 21577 points. The daily chart was looking over extended so this slowdown is not unexpected, with a series of step ups since the nadir in October last year easing off. Daily momentum is getting out of its recent extreme overbought mode which is a good sign but not yet an indicator of a complete top:
Japanese stock markets came back though as some stability courses throughout the local bond market and Yen got a little weaker, with the Nikkei 225 closing 1.2% higher at 26138 points. There was the potential for a swing long trade to develop further here after bottoming out at the 25000 point level but this oscillation may have more playtime this week as traders anticipate today’s BOJ meeting volatility. Daily momentum remains negative although futures are indicating a solid open today:
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