It is probably no surprise that markets are quiet ahead of the Federal Reserve announcement which is probably about to dictate the next chapter in the storey. Both the Shanghai and Hang Seng closed marginally firmer (+0.3%) on the day but added to the Asian mix is the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting also […]
Tokyo cash played catch-up today, after yesterdays futures increase, with the Nikkei cash closing almost 2% higher on the day. The Yen continues to play around the mid-high 111’s with important month end numbers being watched closely. With September also being quarter end and the FED decision only hours away, this is likely to set […]
After Fridays positive move in western markets and especially US markets hitting yet more record highs, Asia responded with equal optimism. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and the KOPSI performed the best of the crowd with a stunning 1.3% a piece. The Shanghai index traded just 0.3% better but probably reflected the miss in New Home […]
North Korea spooked markets yet again by launching a missile that reported flew over Japan, which came a day after North Korea claimed it would sink Japan. The events were short-livid however and after a brief flight to safety in gold, treasuries and the Yen markets quickly corrected back. The JPY traded into the low […]
We really needed some data to support recent Asian moves and sadly that was not fourth coming today. China’s numbers missed on Investment, Industrial Production and Retail Sales so should be no surprised we reversed recent gains. Investment was expecting a number north of 8 (actually looking for 8.2) but was released at 7.8 for […]
Having seen the US markets close on a high note Asia saw a little nerves appear at the opening but at least we are back to focusing on markets rather than having to price-in geopolitical risks. It was the Nikkei again that returned the best of the core (+0.5%) and this time with the currency […]
As the DXY continued its bounce, so Asian currencies returned their recent gains with the most noticeable move being in the Japanese yen. The currency in late US trading is seen with a 110 handle a decline of 0.6% on the day. The declines were counter-balanced by stocks that all rallied with the Nikkei 1.2% […]
With no missile test Saturday or new geopolitical news over the weekend, Asian stocks opened on a positive note. The Chinese central bank loosened some financial restrictions which also added to the positivity for both domestic and regional markets, combined to support all markets. The central bank move opens the market slightly, returning responsibility to […]
Governments and central banks across the world are still concerned about the lack of inflation or significant growth and we saw evidence again in that today from the Japanese Q2 GDP release. Well below estimate of 4% this mornings release came in at 2.5%. Mario Draghi also commented on growth concerns in yesterdays ECB meeting […]
Yes, Asia benefited off of the back of the US markets bouncing but it was far from encouraging. We saw small gains for the Nikkei (+0.2%) and the ASX but declines for the Hang Seng (-0.35%) and Shanghai (-0.6%). Given we have little new headline news concerning North Korea the KOPSI has seen a 1.1% […]
