Whenever there is a national holiday and especially July 4th, volumes are light which can result in larger moves and higher volatility. Given that North Korea tested another missile earlier today the effect on markets was more extreme than would otherwise have been expected. The Hang Seng took the brunt of the move closing down […]
Some refreshingly strong data released in both Japan and China has helped market move on a note. We saw the BOJ’s TANKAN (business confidence data) show an improvement from previous quarterly number at +17 (prior was +15). This has helped push the Nikkei a little better but sees the JPY trade weaker now with a […]
Following a weak US session, Asia fell in sympathy with US prices then levelled as China’s core held in well, especially as PBOC set the YUAN rate at 6.7744 – the highest in a while. China’s Manufacturing data helped Shanghai but the core large cap’s suffered as the Hang Seng lost -0.8%. Japan’s CPI and […]
A strong follow-on for Asia after the positive day seen for US markets yesterday. Although a lot of the talk in Europe surrounded regulations, in Asia they followed directions from three central banks – Europe, UK and Canada – as rhetoric talked of positivity. It is interesting how the market apparently “misinterpreted” Mr Draghi’s speech […]
Following-on from the weak US session, Asia drifted in sympathy. The news from the US Senate, after their markets had closed, worried Asia as they responded to the news. On the whole core markets were lower, the exception being a +0.7% increase in the Australian ASX. Shanghai and the Hang Seng closed around -0.6% lower. […]
Although the Shanghai index continued its positive trend we did finally see only a minimal advance and then a small set-back for the Hang Seng. An earlier strong gain (+0.6%) in the Hand Seng was lost by the time the market had closed but with numerous unexplained small cap scares, it was not a surprise […]
Most core markets finished a quiet week with limited volatility and little change. The Nikkei closed small down while the JPY set a similar trend, eventually finishing mid 111’s. A lot of the talk and discussions have been around the Hang Seng and the Chinese markets. Having just included 222 of the core Shanghai this […]
The oil price to continues to unsettle markets and had a particularly heavy influence on European markets yesterday. US held in well but Asia looks to be turning over as we progress through the week. The ASX bounced (+0.7%) from yesterdays lows as the AUD played around unchanged levels (0.755), even as the NZD continued […]
The continued decline in commodity prices and specifically energy (Libya and Nigeria back on track) weighted both on the A$ (-0.4%) and the ASX (-1.6%). Banks, Energy, Financials and Industrials were all under pressure as Asia moved almost in favour of China. China Blue Chips hit a 18 months high after the inclusion into the […]
With so much on the horizon we saw a mixed session out of Asia today. The one key topic all markets makers were looking at was whether China A-Shares would make the MSCI index have missed it for the past few years. Although it will bring added international attention, China’s recent efforts appear more focused […]
