sino-us trade talks

Asian indices Ended Lower, RBA Keeps Rates Unchanged

Asian indices were under selling pressure today after President Trump announced that he would restore the tariffs on steel products from Argentina and Brazil. Above that, he threatened to impose tariffs on French products in retaliation for taxes imposed by the French government on US tech companies. Investors also await the countermeasures from China, after President Trump signed the legislation backing the Hong Kong protests.

The Hang Seng index is 0.23% lower at 26,384. Nikkei 225 ended 0.64% lower at 23,379. The Singapore FTSE Straits Times Index ended 0.60% lower at 3,168, while the Shanghai Composite is 0.07% higher at 2,877. The ASX 200 ended 2.2% lower at 6,712.  

European indices started lower mirroring Asian indices, DAX trading 0.37% lower at 13,238, CAC40 is 0.21 per cent lower at 5,914, while the FTSE MIB in Milan is 0.69 per cent lower at 23,323. In London, FTSE 100 is trading 0.38% lower at 7,401. 

In commodities, crude oil trades 0.39 per cent higher at $56.18 as OPEC may cut crude oil output until June 2020 in the next meeting in Vienna. Brent oil is trading 0.25% higher at $61.07 per barrel as crude oil world demand will be affected by the global growth slowdown. Gold price trades higher at 1,460, as the short term momentum is bearish now after the gold price trades below the 50 and 100-day moving average. On the upside, resistance stands at 1,555.13 YTD high, while support is at 1,448 the recent low.       

rba kept
BTCUSD Daily Chart

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin (BTCUSD) retreat from recent highs at 7,299, hitting the daily low at 7,224 and the daily high at 7,402. BTCUSD momentum is still bearish as the cryptocurrency trades below the 50 and 200-day moving averages. First support for bitcoin stands now at $6,510 recent low, while the next support stands at 6,000 round figure.

On the upside, resistance stands at 9,925 recent high and then at 10,000 round figure. Ethereum – ETHUSD trades lower at 147.90 with capitalisation now to 16.16 billion, immediate resistance for Ethereum stands at 200 recent high while the support stands at 139.71 daily low, Litecoin also trades lower at 45.83. The crypto market capitalization stands at $198.87 billion.

In the Lookout: Australia RBA kept interest rates unchanged at 0.75%, meeting expectations. The Australia Current Account Balance came in at 7.9B, beating forecasts of 6.3B in the third quarter.

rba kept
AUDUSD Daily Chart

The central bank of China (PBOC) set the Yuan rate (USDCNH) at 7.0223 versus yesterday’s settlement at 7.0409.

Trading Perspective: In fx markets, USD index trades 0.10 per cent lower at 97.79, the AUDUSD trades 0.63 per cent higher at 0.6861, while NZDUSD trades 0.45% higher at 0.6532. USDCHF is 0.17% lower at 0.9895.

GBPUSD trades 0.36% higher at 1.2985 as we are getting closer to the general election and the Brexit deadline on January 31st, 2020. Support for the pair now stands at 1.2578 recent low which if broken, might accelerate the slide further towards 1.20. On the upside, immediate resistance will be met at 1.3010 recent high, while more offers will emerge at 1.3050 round figure.

In Pound futures contracts markets, open interest decreased by 2,000 contracts, while the volume decreased by around 31.500 contracts.

EURUSD trades 0.03% higher at 1.1002 as the pair’s momentum has turned neutral for the short term. The first resistance for the euro stands at 1.1172 recent high. On the downside, the first support stands at 1.0996 today’s low and then at 1.1003.

In euro futures markets, open interest increased by 10,000 contracts, and the volume increased by around 83.000 futures contracts.

USDJPY is trading 0.03% higher at 109.01, having hit the daily low at 108.94 and the daily high at 109.20. USDJPY pair will find support at 104.44 the low from August 23rd. On the upside, resistance for the USDJPY now stands at 109.06 recent high.

In Yen futures markets, open interest decreased by 3,100 contracts, and volume increased by around 42,500 futures contracts.

USDCAD is trading 0.17% lower at 1.3285. The pair will find support at 1.3017 the yearly low while extra support stands at 1.30 round figure. On the upside, resistance will be met at the 1.3356 high from September 3rd before an attempt to 1.3450 high from 31st May.