Asian stock markets finished mixed on Tuesday after stronger than expected manufacturing data out from China. The PMI rose to 52.0 in March from a record-low 35.7 in February, beating the expectations of 45.0. Traders adjust the balance of their portfolios as the quarter ends, with most of them adding to stocks to reach certain restraints in the bonds equity mix.
Nikkei 225 ended 0.88% lower at 18917; the Shanghai Composite index closed 0.11% higher at 2750. The Singapore Straits Times is 2.69% higher at 2481. The Hang Seng was 1.85% higher at 23603. The ASX 200 index closed down 2.0% at 5076.
European indices started higher the trading session. The German DAX is 2.55% higher at 10,064. CAC 40 index is 1.25% higher at 4,433, while the FTSE MIB in Milan is 1.58% higher at 17,137. In London, the FTSE 100 is 1.78% higher at 5,662.
In commodities markets, crude oil is sharply higher. WTI crude oil is 6.67% higher at $21.44, while the Brent oil is 20.88% higher at $27.38 per barrel.
The gold price is 0.95% lower at 1605. The gold initial resistance stands at $1,703, the monthly high, while the initial support stands at $1,451, the low from March 16 trading session. Silver (XAGUSD) also continues lower and is 0.49% lower at $13.92.
Cryptocurrencies trading mixed today. Bitcoin’s (BTCUSD) price is 0.72% higher at $6,444, hitting the daily low at $6,370 and the daily high at $6,604. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) technical picture remains bearish despite the recent rebound, as the cryptocurrency trading below all the major daily moving averages. First support for bitcoin stands now at $4,431 the low from March 14th. On the other hand, immediate resistance stands at $6,860 previous week high while the next strong resistance will be met at 10,495 the yearly top.
Ethereum is 0.01% higher, at 132.30 with capitalization at 14.67 billion. The initial resistance for Ethereum stands at 144.05 the previous week high, while the support stands at $102.00 the low from March 16th session. Ripple – XRPUSD is 0.24% higher at 0.1719. Litecoin (LTCUSD) is 0.23% higher at 38.90. The crypto market capitalization stands now at $181.66 billion.
In the Lookout: United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product came in at 0% in line with forecasts in 4Q, the Total Business Investment came in at -0.5% above the forecasts of -1% in 4Q.
The Japan Construction Orders came in at 0.7%, topping the forecasts of -0.7% in February, the Housing Starts came in at -12.3% above the estimates of -14.7%.
The People’s Bank of China has set the Yuan reference rate at 7.0851 above yesterday’s fix at 7.0477.
Trading Perspective: In the foreign exchange markets, EURUSD is 0.89% lower at 1.0943, the Australian dollar is 1.27% lower at 0.6091 against the U.S. greenback. The Yen is lower against the US Dollar, the USDJPY is 0.82% lower at 108.63. NZDUSD trades 1.18% lower at 0.5938.
