Asian Stocks Talking Points:
- Equity markets were mostly higher as the week and month drew to a close
- Trade hopes remained high, but Chinese economic numbers disappointed
- The US Dollar was steady as markets anticipated another US rate rise next month
Find out what retail foreign exchange investors make of your favorite currency’s chances right now at the DailyFX Sentiment Page
Asian stocks were mostly higher Friday with investors once more looking with hope towards US President Donald Trump’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart XI Jinping at the weekend’s G20 summit in Argentina.
President Trump told reporters on Thursday that he was ‘close’ to doing something on trade but he then added that he wasn’t sure that he wanted to because of the ‘billions of dollars’ coming into the United States in the form of taxes and tariffs. The Wall Street Journal reported that officials from both sides said that a trade pact was under consideration that would end further tariffs from the US in exchange for new talks looking at changes to economic policy in Beijing.
Still, the Nikkei 225 was up by 0.7% as its week’s close loomed. Shanghai was flat, with the Hang Seng in the green by 0.4%. The Kospi was down 0.4%, with the ASX 200 the biggest casualty. It had lost 0.8% thanks to weakness in both banks and raw-material producers.
Currency markets were steady as the G20 meet loomed. The US Dollar clawed back a little ground against its major traded rivals. The Australian Dollar took a hit on news that Chinese manufacturing slowed close to stall speed this month.
AUD/USD remains in the daily-chart uptrend in place since late October. However, it has so far stalled below the highs of mid-August which still appear to offer bulls tough resistance.
Crude oil prices rose on news that Russia had accepted the need to reduce production, while gold prices inched higher through the Asian session.
There is plenty of life left in Friday’s economic calendar. Canadian Gross Domestic Product data and Eurozone consumer price numbers will probably top the bill. Also coming up are the UK’s Nationwide house-price index, Eurozone employment figures and Germany’s retail sales stats for October. The Italian GDP release is also due and, with all the current market focus on that country’s debt profile, it may attract broader market attention that usual.
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--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research
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