Asia Pacific Markets Wrap Talking Points
- Asia Pacific stock markets largely trade higher despite worrying trade news from US
- Nikkei 225 rises 1%, still within the boundaries of a brewing bearish reversal pattern
- S&P 500 futures are pointing higher, signaling market mood may continue improving
Find out what retail traders’ equities buy and sell decisions say about the coming price trend!
Asia Pacific benchmark stock indexes largely traded higher Friday, brushing off the latest US-China trade news. During the Wall Street trading session, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross noted that the two nations are still ‘miles and miles’ away from an agreement. The S&P 500 only ended the day about 0.14% to the upside after a volatile session.
In stark contrast, the Nikkei 225 climbed about one percent heading into the close of the week. The information technology sector largely contributed to the gains. Still, the Japanese index is within a bearish reversal pattern that has been brewing since the end of December. China’s Shanghai Composite rose about 0.82% while the ASX 200 climbed roughly 0.68%.
Looking at foreign exchange markets, the anti-risk Japanese Yen underperformed against its major counterparts as market mood improved. Puzzlingly, the pro-risk Australian and New Zealand Dollars struggled to capitalize on improving sentiment. The British Pound seemed to be getting most of the attention as it continued soaring on the latest Brexit developments.
For the remainder of the session, US durable goods orders are likely to be postponed due to the government shutdown. The Swedish Krona may come under selling pressure if local retail sales data misses expectations. As such, sentiment might be the main driver for the markets as the week concludes. S&P 500 futures are pointing a little higher.
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--- Written by Daniel Dubrovsky, Junior Currency Analyst for DailyFX.com
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