The Nikkei is tracking the Dow’s every move

• The Nikkei opened today in the green, following in the footsteps of the US benchmarks.  
• Positive noises out of US-Japan trade may also have helped sentiment.

The Nikkei opened today in the green and is currently up 1.17% at 20499, following the lead of the DJIA which added an impressive  269.93 points, or 1.1%, to 25,898.83, while the S&P 500 index added 31.27 points, or 1.1%, to 2,878.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index put on 101.97 points, or 1.3%, to 7,853.74.  The Nikkei and Dow are partners in crime, with the Nikkei taking its cues from the Dow’s behaviour. On Friday the Dow tumbled 623.34 points, or 2.4%, to end at 25,628.90, leaving the blue-chip gauge with a 1% weekly decline and the Nikkei followed in kind yesterday.  

More positive noises out of US-Japan trade may also have helped sentiment in today’s open, but according to the press, US President Trump held out an olive branch to China on trade; On Monday, during a press conference after the conclusion of the Group of 7 meeting in France, Trump said that he thinks that China wants to make a trade deal “very badly.” and when he was asked if he would considering delaying or cancelling tariffs on China, the president said “anything’s possible.”

China not in a hurry to make a deal

However, as analysts at Rabobank pointed out, the question we should be asking is – “Is China really going to sign up willingly to a new US order that doesn’t allow for Made in China 2025 or the South China Sea, or regional primacy? ”  

“We are 15 months away from a US election which could, in their imaginations, make this all go away with a new president,”  – analysts at Rabobank argued.  

Nikkei levels