Lots of action on Asian risk markets although stocks remain somewhat mixed after the release of Japanese inflation figures and the start of PBOC stock buybacks. The USD remains strong against the undollars following the rate cut from last night’s ECB meeting. Australian stocks have pulled back while the Aussie dollar is having a peekaboo above the 67 cent level but doesn’t look sustainable going into the London session.
Oil futures are still pulling back as Brent crude falls to the $74USD per barrel level while gold is making record highs, now above the $2700USD per ounce level as the weekly chart shows the current trajectory:
Mainland Chinese share markets are lifting going into the close with the Shanghai Composite up more than 0.6% while the Hang Seng Index is up by more than 0.7% to 20229 points. Meanwhile Japanese stock markets are dead flat in the wake of the latest inflation numbers with the Nikkei 225 unchanged while trading in the USDPY pair is basically muted as it stays just below the 150 handle:
Australian stocks were the standout for the wrong reasons with falls across the board as the ASX200 fell back nearly 1%, currently at 8272 points while the Australian dollar has tried to lift further above the 67 cent level following yesterday’s jobs print but this looks weak at best:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures are flat going into the London session with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing momentum still at neutral settings from the recent retracement but still slightly positive:
The economic calendar will focus on UK retail sales tonight.