Stock markets across Asia are pulling back sharply in the wake of the regional bank crisis in the US with Wall Street futures hesitant at best. Currency markets have corrected somewhat after selling off USD sharply with the Australian dollar remaining at the mid 66 cent level while oil prices have rolled over again with Brent crude breaking below the $80USD per barrel level. Meanwhile gold retraced slightly after zooming too high and too fast, still holding above the $1900USD per ounce level:
Mainland Chinese share markets are down across the board with the Shanghai Composite off by nearly 0.8% to remain below the 3300 point barrier at 3246 points while the Hang Seng has slumped again, down 1.8% to take back the previous gains at 19335 points. Japanese stock markets remain caught up in the volatility with the Nikkei 225 down more than 2% to 27217 points while the USDJPY pair has lifted off its recent low to cross well above the 133 level for a minor swing play:
Australian stocks were again unable to escape the selling with the ASX200 closing more than 1.4% lower to almost break through the 7000 point level, finishing at 7008 points. The Australian dollar took some heat out of overnight volatility and is bang on the mid 66 cent level despite some poor economic prints locally:
Eurostoxx and US futures are trying to normalise after a frenetic session, with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing price action holding somewhat at the 3900 point level. A point of control is developing here, albeit with a bearish bias so watch for moves either side of this symmetrical triangle pattern:
The economic calendar will include UK unemployment and US core inflation numbers tonight.