Asian stock markets are having a mixed reaction to the falls on Wall Street overnight, with some stability in the burgeoning USD making Japanese shares waver from their start of week good position, while local stocks sold off in the wake of a rate rise from the RBA. Currency markets remain weak against USD but have stabilised somewhat as we head into the London open with the Australian dollar bouncing off its new two week low to just get above the 69 cent level in response to the 25bps rate rise. Meanwhile oil prices are coming back slowly with Brent crude pushing back above the $81USD per barrel level as gold also consolidates after its huge selloff on Friday night overnight, currently settling just below the $1875USD per ounce level:
Mainland Chinese share markets are climbing slightly with the Shanghai Composite up 0.2% to 3245 points while the Hang Seng is clawing back its previous losses, up more than 0.8% to 21399 points. Japanese stock markets are wavering however with the Nikkei 225 barely changed at 27675 points with the USDJPY pair coming back slightly after gapping significantly higher on the weekend open, currently sitting just above the 132 level:
Australian stocks had the worst performance in the region due to the RBA rate rise, with the ASX200 closing 0.5% lower to close just below the 7500 point level at 7498 points. The Australian dollar bounced back throughout the session even before the meeting and shot up above the 69 handle thereafter but has pulled back going into the London open and still looks very weak here:
Eurostoxx and US futures have steadied after falling back in overnight trade with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing price action holding above the psychologically important 4000 point zone, but short term momentum has retraced into barely positive territory so watch for any attempt to cross below ATR support:
The economic calendar includes some ECB speeches, then US balance of trade figures.