Risk is only taking a pause on local markets with Chinese bourses powering ahead on recent trade figures while Japanese stocks and the Yen are being impacted by a talk fest from BOJ officials and others in trying to tame the recent volatility. The USD is firming against most of the majors as interest rate concerns dominate with the Australian dollar sliding further below the 66 cent level after the recent hold decision by the RBA.
Oil prices are trying to stabilise after their recent sharp falls as they remain under pressure but Brent crude has managed to lift just above the $84USD per barrel level while gold is also continuing its own struggle, steady but barely above the $2300USD per ounce level this afternoon:
Mainland Chinese share markets saw a good lift with the Shanghai Composite up more than 0.8% while the Hang Seng Index also had a strong session, closing more than 1% higher at 18528 points. Meanwhile Japanese stock markets were unable to make any gains with the Nikkei 225 eventually closing more than 0.3% lower at 38073 points with the USDJPY pair having a small pause due to a lot of BOJ talk, holding just above the 155 level:
Australian stocks fell the sharpest with the ASX200 closing 1% lower as it failed to hold above the 7800 point barrier, finishing at 7721 points while the Australian dollar held well below the 66 cent level, just staying above its previous weekly high:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures are flat lining and starting to fall as we head into the London session with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing price action struggling to push above the 5200 point level:
The economic calendar will mainly focus on the latest Bank of England meeting, followed by US weekly jobless claims.