Asian share markets are not doing so well as the play catchup to the risk off mood that has been dragging down Wall Street since Friday night with returning Japanese markets down the most while local shares are still heading down due to the somewhat hawkish RBA position. Meanwhile the Australian dollar is trying to steady just below the 64 cent level after a slightly resurgent USD from overnight.
Oil markets are trying to recover from their gap over the weekend despite some OPEC promises about production cuts with Brent crude lifting above the $74USD per barrel level while gold is failing to push higher above the $2950USD per ounce level but momentum remains broadly positive:
Mainland Chinese share markets are down slightly in afternoon trade with the Shanghai Composite around the 3370 point level while the Hang Seng Index has retraced somewhat to be down 0.7% to hold just above the 23000 point level. Japanese stock markets have returned from their long weekend holiday with Nikkei 225 losing more than 1% in a sharp down session while trading in the USDPY pair has seen a post weekend hold that is still well below the 150 handle but at least not making any further session lows:
Australian stocks are still failing to put on some runs with the ASX200 closing 0.6% lower at 8256 points while the Australian dollar has steadied after almost breaking down on Friday night as it holds on tight at the mid 63 level with support building here:
S&P and Eurostoxx futures are heading slightly higher as we head into the London session with the S&P500 four hourly chart showing a new breakdown potentially building below the 6100 point level with more volatility likely ahead here:
The economic calendar includes the latest US house price index plus some manufacturing figures.