NASDAQ 100, HANG SENG, ASX 200 INDEX OUTLOOK:
- Nasdaq 100 may test its 100-Day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 10,740 – an immediate support
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) is consolidating, with a key support level at 24,130
- ASX 200’s trend remains downward-biased. China Loan Prime Rate in focus
Nasdaq 100 Index Outlook:
Nasdaq 100 index futures fluctuated on Monday after falling over 1% on Friday. This may set a mixed tone for Asia-Pacific markets amid a relatively quiet calendar day. The two-day closure of the Japanese markets suggests that liquidity in both equity and forex could be thin, rendering popular trading products such as USD/JPY and Nikkei 225 index futures susceptible to large swings, should there be surprising news.
The halting of President Trump’s ban of Chinese social media apps WeChat and TikTok may provide markets with temporary relief, but traders are scrutinizing the developments on the TikTok-Oracle deal. The geopolitical situation in the Taiwan Strait is also another risk traders are closely watching. Chinese media agency Global Times reported that Beijing is considering putting HSBC into its Unreliable Entity List (UEL) due to its linkage with Meng Wanzhou’s (Huawei’s CFO) case.
The VIX volatility index drifted lower in the past two weeks, suggesting this might be another healthy technical correction in a mid-term bull run. There could be more consolidations ahead however, as several technical indicators show.
Technically,the Nasdaq 100 index has dived below its 50-Day SMA and the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level at 11,070 last week. This may be showing that bearish side is taking control in the near term. An immediate support level may be found at 10,740 – the 100-Day SMA. Breaking below 10,740 will likely open the door for further losses with an eye at 10,220, which also marks the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level.
Nasdaq 100 Index – Daily Chart
Hang Seng Index Outlook:
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) attempts to find strong support at 24,130 (38.2% Fibonacci retracement) within a mid-term downward trend. The index was weighed by a couple of headwinds: US equity market consolidation, rising US-China tensions and a soft domestic economy due to Covid-19.
Sector-wise, financials (+0.93%) and commerce & industry (+0.31%) were among the best performers on Friday, whereas utilities (-0.60%) and properties (-0.49%) were lagging.
Hang Seng Index – Daily Chart
ASX 200 Index Outlook:
Australia’s ASX 200 index re-tested a support zone of 5,800 – 5,850, which held well in the past two weeks. China’s Loan Prime Rate is set to be released at 9:30am Singapore Time. The short-term trend of ASX 200 index appears to be bearish-biased, as suggested by a dwindling MACD. As the index recently failed to break above what appeared to be an “Ascending Triangle” formation, and since entered into a correction, finding support level at 5,810.
ASX 200 Index – Daily Chart
--- Written by Margaret Yang, Strategist for DailyFX.com
To contact Margaret, use the Comments section below or @margaretyjy on Twitter
