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.

USD/JPY eyes August swing low, near 155.20 ahead of US NFP

USD/JPY retests the August monthly swing low during the Asian session on Friday as a more hawkish repricing of BoJ rate-hike bets and a suspected intervention continue to underpin the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar is seen consolidating the previous day's heavy losses amid soft US bond yields, further weighing on the currency pair as traders keenly await the US NFP report.

AUD/USD consolidates above 0.7200; US NFP awaited

AUD/USD holds steady above 0.7200, near its highest level since mid-May, as bulls await the US NFP report for more cues on the Fed's policy path before placing fresh bets. Meanwhile, the recent decline in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar depressed near its lowest level in over a week and acts as a tailwind for the Aussie amid the RBA's hawkish tilt.

Gold tumbles as blockbuster US NFP lift US Dollar, Treasury yields

Gold (XAU/USD) falls sharply on Friday, snapping a two-day recovery after the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report surprised strongly to the upside. The metal briefly climbed above $4,500 on Thursday, gaining nearly 2%, but has since erased a large part of that advance.

Crypto’s $638 million buyback boom may not be as bullish as it looks

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols reportedly spent $638 million to buy back their native tokens in August, up 17% from a year earlier. On the surface, the buyback trend suggests the cryptocurrency industry is maturing fast, adopting one of Wall Street’s oldest tools to bolster valuations and distribute revenue. The headline becomes less impressive once the number is opened up.

Why hawkish Bank of Japan expectations aren't enough to sustain the Japanese Yen rally

The Japanese Yen (JPY) experienced a sudden burst higher after falling back below the 160.00 psychological mark against the US Dollar (USD) earlier this week amid a more hawkish repricing of Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike expectations.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.