Asian share markets are doing poorly in the first session of the trading week despite the rebound on Wall Street on Friday night with the weekend gap providing some volatility.
Oil prices are continuing to fall with Brent crude now below the $77USD per barrel level while gold exploded higher on the weekend open to shoot to a new high above the $2100USD per ounce level before retracing back to the $2090USD per ounce level:
Mainland Chinese share markets are back in the red near the close with the Shanghai Composite down 0.3% to 3022 points while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index is also off, down nearly 0.5% to continue its losing streak, currently at 16735 points. Japanese stock markets are also falling back with the Nikkei 225 down 0.5% to 33466 points while the USDJPY pair is trying to stave off its Friday rollover but it still down below the 147 level:
Australian stocks were the odd ones out in the region, able to put in a final positive session with the ASX200 closing 0.7% higher to push through the 7100 point level while the Australian dollar has taken some heat out of its recent run up but is still holding just above the mid 66 cent level with a minor consolidation in the weekend gap:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures are slightly lower going into the London open as the S&P500 four hourly chart shows support continuing to firm at the 4500 point level where price action is likely to test the 4600 point level in tonight’s session as risk sentiment remains positive:
The economic calendar includes a speech by President Lagarde of the ECB plus US factory orders.