Asia Pacific Stocks Talking Points
- Asia Pacific stocks were mostly lower Monday
- Shanghai’s new tech board made its debut
- Oil prices were supported by Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz
Find out what retail foreign exchange investors make of your favorite currency’s chances right now at the DailyFX Sentiment Page
Monday’s launch of a Nasdaq-style tech-stock index in Shanghai wasn’t enough to lift Asia Pacific equity spirits.
The Science and Technology Innovation Board or ‘STAR Market’ encompasses 25 listings and is reportedly aimed at addressing investors worries over governance and volatility.
Still, on a quiet day for economic data, the markets’ main focus was Friday’s Wall Street session. That saw broad losses despite a reasonable slew of corporate earnings. The capture of a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran last week has stoked some risk aversion, but the story seems not to have moved on much in Monday’s session.
Abe’s Party wins majority in Japan’s Upper House
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic party maintained a majority in last weekend’s upper house elections. However, it fell short of the supermajority needed to alter the pacifist constitution which Abe would like to do. There were reported hopes that with elections out of the way, Tokyo will be able to focus on its long running political and historical disputes with South Korea
The Nikkei 225 was down 0.3%, with Shanghai’s Composite off by 0.6%. Australia’s ASX 200 reversed initial gains which were largely driven by the gold and energy sectors. It was down by 0.3% as its close approached.
US Dollar Gets Risk Off Support
The US Dollar was well supported as investors looked ahead to this week’s crucial US growth data. USDJPY crept back into the trading range which has been important since late May. That said it doesn’t look very comfortable there and the bulls have yet to take the pair back above the psychologically important 108.00 handle.
This week promises some major economic news. That US growth data is of course out in front, but the European Central Bank’s monetary policy is coming up too. There’s not much left on Monday’s schedule though, with Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s speech in Washington the likely highlight.
Asian Stocks Resources for Traders
Whether you’re new to trading or an old hand DailyFX has plenty of resources to help you. There’s our trading sentiment indicator which shows you live how IG clients are positioned right now. We also hold educational and analytical webinars and offer trading guides, with one specifically aimed at those new to foreign exchange markets. There’s also a Bitcoin guide. Be sure to make the most of them all. They were written by our seasoned trading experts and they’re all free.
--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research
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