Talking Points::
- Asian stocks were mixed in what looked like a quiet, pre-holiday session
- US political news might have enlivened matters, but some markets were already shut
- The Dollar had risen, but slipped a bit on news that tax reform was though the Senate
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Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday despite news of US tax reform’s passage through the Senate which filtered out as the Nikkei 225 was closing and just after Australia’s ASX 200 finished for the day.The bill will now return to the House of Representatives for its second vote there, but has taken a big step toward the Federal statute book.
The Japanese stock benchmark closed up by 0.1%, with the ASX also higher, by a similar amount. Chinese and South Korean shares were still in the red as trade headed towards their market closes but losses were pared.
The US Dollar saw a bit of selling on the move, having risen a little beforehand. The New Zealand Dollar was heavy once more as the country’s trade deficit was revealed to have run way ahead of forecasts in November.
Crude oil prices were supported by an ongoing North Sea pipeline outage and expectations of lower US stocks. Gold prices went nowhere much but Bitcoin endured heavy falls, scoring a 10% drop as major marketplace Coinbase said it would support rival Bitcoin Cash.
Still to come Wednesday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaks to Parliament in London. From the US will come existing home sales data and news of crude inventory levels at key delivery node Cushing, Oklahoma.
--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research
Contact and follow David on Twitter: @DavidCottleFX
