Asian indices and Nikkei 225 finished lower today ahead of the Fed interest rates decision and poor progress made in US-China trade talks in Shangai. The Hang Seng finished 1.31 percent lower at 27,777, the Shanghai composite ended 0,70 percent lower to 2,931 and the Singapore Straits Times index finished 1.28 percent lower at 3,307. Aussie stocks also finished lower, ASX added 0.47% at 6,812 despite better CPI data; Australia Consumer Price Index (year over year) came in at 1.6% above expectations of 1.5% in 2Q, the Consumer Price Index (QoQ) came in at 0.6% also above forecasts of 0.5% in 2Q. The Australia Private Sector Credit (YoY) declined to 3.3% in June from previous 3.6%.
Nikkei 225 finished 0.86% lower at 21,521 as Japan Annualized Housing Starts climbed from previous 0.9M to 0.922M in June. Japan Consumer Confidence Index came in at 37.8 below expectations of 38.6 in June. BOJ yesterday left its interest rate policy unchanged, as widely expected, and maintained its guidance of extremely low rates at least through spring next year. The Bank of Japan added it would ease “without hesitation” if the economy growth loses momentum for achieving the BOJ’s 2% inflation target. Japanese government lowered the FY 2019 real GDP growth estimate from 1.3% to 0.9%.
The positive momentum for Nikkei 225 is still intact as the index holds above all the major daily averages. First support for the index stands at 21,454 the 100 day moving average, while another barrier is at 21,296 the 50 day moving average. On the upside resistance stands at 21,807 the high from July 25th.
In Asian forex markets USDJPY trading 0.11 percent lower at 108.53, the Aussie dollar trades 0,28% higher against greenback at 0.6892, while Kiwi also trades lower at 0.6604 versus USD. Gold is adding 5 dollars at 1,430, while crude oil is 0.72 percent higher at $58.47 per barrel.Don’t miss a beat! Follow us on Twitter.