Asian share markets are stumbling around with a variety of macro pressures overshadowing the broad gains on Wall Street and European markets overnight. Meanwhile the fall in business confidence in Australia and the slightly higher dollar is seeing local shares selloff again. The Australian dollar has now burst through the 65 cent level as the interest rate differential looks set to widen as the Federal Reserve is set to make a cut next month and probably two or more by the end of the year as the US faces recession.
Oil markets are failing to get out of their recent depressed mood with Brent crude keeping around the $66USD per barrel level while gold continues to soar higher as it lifts well above the $3600USD per ounce level:
Mainland Chinese share markets are sliding back going into the close with the Shanghai Composite down 0.4% but still holding above the 3800 point level while the Hang Seng Index is up another 0.8% at 25839 points. Japanese stock markets made new record highs with the Nikkei 225 looking to close nearly 0.2% higher at 43700 points with the USDPY pair has taken back all of its gap over the weekend on the Ishiba resignation, now tracking back down to the 147 level:
Australian stocks were the odd ones out and sold off slightly with the ASX200 closing 0.2% lower to 8849 points while the Australian dollar has again lifted to a new high to get above the 66 cent level against USD:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures are rising slightly as we head into the London session with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing the market wanting to crack through the 6500 point level with momentum wanting to return to overbought levels as traders have already dialed in the certainty of yet another put from the Fed:
The economic calendar is relatively quiet again tonight with some ECB, BOE speeches plus the latest US Redbook.