Asian stocks continue the move higher following the hawkish US Fed's Powell

Equities in the Pacific-Asia window are continuing Tuesday's bull move as the US Fed's Powell delivers a bullish outlook.
China equities are pushing higher, but are restrained as US-China tensions remain unresolved.

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

Asian stock markets are on the upside following a bullish showing from the US Fed's chairman Jerome Powell, but a subdued undertone remains in Chinese indexes.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell give a hawkish stance in the first day of his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, talking up the positive aspects of the US economy's growth metrics looking foward, and downplaying potential negative fallout from the ongoing US-China trade spat. Equity markets reacted largely positive, and the positive twist to indexes is carrying over into the Asian market session, though Chinese stocks are seeing smaller gains for the day.

Japan's Nikkei 225 is up 0.90% so far for Wednesday, with the Tokyo Topix index up for 0.70%, while Australia's ASX 200 is likewise up 0.70%; Chinese equities are in the green, but relatively more sedate, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index up about 0.60% with the Shanghai CSI 300 up around 0.35%.

Nikkei 225 levels to watch

July has seen a bullish recovery for Japan's leading equity index, and resistance is sitting nearby at June's highs of 23,000.00, with January's all-time peak of 24,180.00, while a bearish turnaround will be faced with June's lows at 22,030.00 and July's technical bottom at 21,475.00.

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

GBP/USD loses momentum, flirts with 1.3200

GBP/USD is struggling to maintain its positive bias on Thursday, retreating toward the 1.3200 region in response to the pick in the buying interest around the Greenback. That said, Cable remains under scrutiny as cautious market sentiment keeps investors focused on the US-Iran conflict and political effervescence in the UK.

EUR/USD trims gains, challenges 1.1400

EUR/USD now gives away part of its earlier advance, receding toward the 1.1400 contention zone on Thursday. Meanwhile, the pair’s recovery comes amid extra losses in the US Dollar, at the time when while investors continue to monitor developments in the Middle East and sentiment surrounding global technology stocks.

Gold remains bid and close to $4,100

Gold accelerates its recovery and approaches the key $4,000 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, adding to Thursday’s advance. However, expectations for a hawkish Fed remain steady and keep the yellow metal’s potential upside contained.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin at $60,000, Ethereum at $1,500, and XRP at $1 face a make-or-break test

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) are trading in the red on Friday after three consecutive days of losses, testing their respective make-or-break support levels.

Week ahead – NFP report to challenge Dollar strength and the hawkish Fed

Dollar strength dominates markets, as the hawkish Fed overshadows geopolitics and lower oil prices. NFP week could drive September Fed hike expectations and boost market volatility. The euro lacks fresh bullish catalysts, all eyes on the preliminary inflation report and the ECB Forum.

Regime change: Inside Kevin Warsh's first move to make the Fed unreadable on purpose

The rate did not move. That was the least interesting thing about Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the Fed. The FOMC held its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for the fourth straight meeting, exactly as priced, and then the new chair used his first press conference to dismantle the machinery the market has leaned on for a decade.