- Equities in the Asia markets continue to lean into the bearish side as risk appetite grapples with trade concerns.
- China has begun to make moves to bolster markets as the Shanghai indexes push further into bearish territory for 2018.
Asian equities continue to lean into the red for Friday, with indexes across Asia declining yet again as trader sentiment remains risk-averse. Broader sentiment continues to await further developments in the ongoing US-China trade spat, and despite some conflicting statements from White House personnel this week, trader hopes for a peaceful resolution are no better off than they were at the beginning of the week, and equities have lagged in the Pacific-Asia region.
China has made key moves to bolster financial markets ahead of a potential all-out trade war with the US, with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) cutting the Reserve Requirement Ratio for key institutions last week in a bid to free up extra liquidity, while Thursday also saw China announce a loosening of restrictions on foreign investment in key sectors within the Chinese economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 in down -0.30% for Friday, touching into 22,200.00, with Tokyo’s Topix index also down -0.28%; Chinese equities are lopsided today, with the Hang Seng lower a soft -0.12%, while Shanghai’s CSI 300 is off over a full percentage point. Australia’s ASX index is flat on the day near 6,200.00, while the MSCI broad Asia-Pacific index is down -0.60% on Friday.
Nikkei levels to watch
The Nikkei continues to play near June’s lows just above the 22,000.00 major level, while declining resistance piles up at last week’s high of 22,780.00 and June’s peak just beyond 23,000.00. A bearish break of current support will see May’s low at 21,910.00, with little beyond that in the way to 2018’s lows deep in 20,000.00 territory.
Share
