Asian share markets are not moving with any vigor in today’s session with concern over the direction of bond markets and tonight’s upcoming US GDP print. The USD is gaining some strength which is impacting the Australian dollar, which is falling in sympathy with the Kiwi due to the very dovish RBNZ meeting this afternoon.
Oil prices are trying to claw back recent losses but Brent crude has stalled just above the $82USD per barrel level while gold is also failings to advance through the $2030USD per ounce level it exceeded on Friday night as it again hits short term resistance:
Mainland and offshore Chinese share markets are reversing their post Chinese New Year rally with the Shanghai Composite down nearly 0.5% while the Hang Seng is off by more than 0.6% to 16681 points. Japanese stock markets have also gone nowhere with the Nikkei 225 down 0.1% to 39191 points while the USDJPY pair is starting to gain some momentum after hovering above the 150 handle:
Australian stocks continue their flat start to the trading week with the ASX200 barely up a few points to remain above the 7600 point level while the Australian dollar has fallen down sharply in afternoon trade on the back of the RBNZ hold, almost crossing below the 65 cent level:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures have retraced slightly from their overnight positions going into the London session with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing price action hovering just below the 5100 point level:
The economic calendar ramps up tonight with the latest US GDP estimates, followed by a slew of Fed official speeches to watch out for.