Asian Stocks Talking Points:
- Mainboards were broadly lower across the region
- Trade worries were to the fore again, with Brexit also glowering
- The Dollar edged down too, with Federal Reserve dovishness still very much in play
Find out what retail foreign exchange investors make of your favorite currency’s chances right now at the DailyFX Sentiment Page
Asian stocks had a scrappy session Friday, with Wall Street gains offering an initial lead which was in turn eroded as doubts seemed to grow about next week’s trade talks between the US and China. Brexit of course continues to weigh on sentiment too.
The Nikkei 225 was down 0.1% as its close approached, with Shanghai off by 0.7%. The Hang Seng shed 0.5% while the ASX 200 managed to buck the trend and rise by 0.4%.
The US Dollar inched lower against a basket of its major traded rivals with the British Pound higher on news that the European Union had agreed to let Prime Minister Theresa May have more time to bring her Brexit deal before Parliament again.
EUR/GBP remains in the downtrend which has marked trade this year.
The Euro has shown some fight this week, but it remains in some danger of making a lower low on its daily chart, so trade for the remainder of Friday may be instructive.
The local economic data slate was sparse, with probably the most important release coming in the form of Japanese inflation figures. These displayed their customary weakness, however, with core prices rising just 0.7% on the year in February.
Crude oil prices slipped back once more as economic-growth worries weighed on the market. Gold prices meanwhile were steady.
Still to come Friday are various Purchasing Managers Index figures from around Europe and the US. Official Canadian inflation data are coming up too, as are details of US existing home sales.
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--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research
Follow David on Twitter @DavidCottleFX or use the Comments section below to get in touch!
