Asia was a mixed with a strong Hang Seng (+0.75%) an unchanged Nikkei and a slightly weaker Shanghai (-0.55%), which after yesterdays ECB Q+A session was actually very promising performance. However, it was not to last and as soon as Europe opened then the selling began. It started in the fixed-income markets but by afternoon […]

Secondary economic data in Japan coupled with slight dovish comments BOJ comments and the Nikkei started to drift lower. At worse the index was down around 1% but a lack of follow through volume saw a reasonable bounce into the close. Eventually, the Nikkei closed down 0.3% which, around mid afternoon looked very unlikely. The […]

The Nikkei and Shanghai both took very different directions to reach virtually the same conclusion in todays trading. The Nikkei started in negative territory (almost 2% lower) then spent the day clambering back to what seemed like but unchanged but happened to be -0.45%. However, what many appeared to be happy about was the fact […]

We could be about to enter some interesting times as we settle back post holiday season. We are looking at a possible return to volatility especially after a clear message from the G20 that they are frozen in the headlights. Asia started us off with the Nikkei rallying, closely followed also with positive performances for […]

President Erdogan of Turkey is clearly on a mission to raise Turkey to the old level of power such as the Ottoman Empire. As a member of NATO, he is doing really everything to undermine that position playing one side against the other. He has sold off more than 50% of central bank reserves held […]

After Fridays Payrolls release we saw Asian futures reflect a solid performance which was carried into the cash indices this morning. The Nikkei lost a little of the futures euphoria but still closed up 0.7% and the highest close in over 3 months, the JPY gained 0.55% rejecting the 104 handle and closing closer to 103 instead. […]

President Erdogan turning to Russia and shaking hands with President Putin in St. Petersburg should send a red light to NATO that all nukes must be withdrawn from Turkey ASAP. This reset of Russia-Turkey relations is strategic on Erdogan’s part. The joint statement indicated the two leaders’ willingness to cooperate in several fields and highlights both Moscow and […]

The Nikkei and Hang Seng closed virtually unchanged in anticipation of the US lunchtime numbers. The Hang Seng was the best performing Asian index closing up 0.45%. It was always going to be about the US Payrolls even as Europe opened marginally better bid. Overnight we had seen the USD take a bit of a […]

Asian equity trading was purely a follow-on from the US session retracing much the same issues and momentum. The Nikkei closed positive whilst attempting the stronger trend while the Shanghai trod water for most of the day, despite stronger than expected PMI data but then eventually lost all that in the final hour to close the day […]

The Nikkei saw another impressive day today with the index closing up +0.97%  but at the same time the Yen continues to lose ground. In late US trading we have broken again the 103.50 level with the lose this week close to 3%, there are many rumors around BOJ intervention in the FX but all […]