A calmer session on Asia stock markets today, reflecting the bounceback on Wall Street overnight as traders hung on the words of Fed Chair Powell, who is set to to talk again tonight. Meanwhile, oil prices continue to rocket higher with both WTI and Brent crude pushing well over the $100USD per barrel level as currencies are seeing a small reversal in USD strength, as commodity currencies like the Australian and Canadian dollar push higher. Gold remains strong above the $1900USD per ounce level, albeit with a slight dip during the Asian session while Bitcoin is continuing to consolidate here with a small retracement back below the $44K level:
Mainland Chinese shares are pulling back slightly with the Shanghai Composite currently down 0.3% to 3477 points while the Hang Seng Index is finally putting in an up session, currently lifting more than 0.4% to 22445 points. Japanese stock markets are also bouncing back with the Nikkei 225 up 0.6% to 26567 points as the USDJPY pair again comes up against the previous weekly high at just above the mid 115 level where its likely to stall again:
Australian stocks continued their bounce from the previous session with the ASX200 managing to built above the 7100 point level, closing nearly 0.5% higher at 7151 points. Meanwhile the Australian dollar is pushing further onward from its recent gains, lifting through the 73 level as the London session gets underway:
Eurostoxx and Wall Street futures are slowly building in confidence following the overnight bounceback with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing price coming up against resistance at the key 4400 point level again, after retesting the short term bottom pattern – can it get through for a new weekly high?
The economic calendar continues with the January Euro wide employment figures and the latest ECB monetary accounts, plus a trifecta of US goodies – initial jobless claims, the ISM services survey and then Fed Chair Powell’s testimony.