Talking Points:
- Most Asian stocks ended Thursday lower
- There was rotation out of tech and into finance as there had been in the US
- The New Zealand Dollar took a data hit, while Sterling made gains
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Asian stocks were mostly lower Thursday despite another record-high close for the Dow Jones Industrial Average the day before.
Tech stocks had taken a hit in New York, with investors moving out of them and into financials anticipating a more profitable, higher interest-rate environment. Asia’s tech heavy bourses suffered a little as a result. The Nikkei was a notable exception. It finished up 0.5%, the only notable patch of green on Asian trading screens late session. The reason for its resilience was not immediately clear but USD/JPY did pick up through the day and that is a sight which often lifts the exporter-heavy index. The ASX 200 was off by 0.69%, with the Kospi also lower. The Hang Seng had the worst of the selloff. It fell by 1.3%.
The US Dollar was broadly steady, although its Australian cousin got a lift against it on news that China’s manufacturing sector performed well in November. The New Zealand Dollar meanwhile was clobbered by a weak business-confidence reading, while the British Pound rose on renewed Brexit optimism.
Gold held near two-month lows as investors looked to a stronger US economy, while oil inched up as OPEC’s meeting was set to start in Vienna.
The rest of the day will bring Eurozone consumer price data, German jobless figures, US jobless claims and the Personal Consumption Expenditures roundup.
--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research
Contact and follow David on Twitter: @DavidCottleFX
