Aust dollar holds below US70c

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The Australian dollar is higher, helped by a bounce in US stocks on the back of some strong US consumer confidence data.

At 6.30am (AEST), the local unit was trading at US69.91c, up from US69.47c on Tuesday.

Wall Street spent a large part of its day in negative territory, before enjoying strong gains after a report showed that the US consumer confidence index had risen to 103.0, when a sharp drop had been expected.

Source : Business Spectator

USD/JPY: bullish hammer formation on 120 handle

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USD/JPY is currently trading at 119.64 with a high of 120.16 and a low of 119.24.

USD/JPY is flat with a familiar range. Price is subject to risk-on or risk-off themes as we progress through the sessions. The 200 DMA remains the key resistance at 120.88 today while the downside key support stays with 119.20 today. Stocks picked up in the European shift while the US is performing a little better as well albeit still mainly in the red.

Commodities have picked up and there is a general stabilization in today's US sessions while we await key data with the Nonfarm Payrolls at the end of the week. From Japan, we will see industrial production and retail sales ahead of the Q3 Tankan sentiment survey.

Source : FxStreet

Asian Futures Rise Amid Late U.S. Rally While Yen Holds Advance

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Asian investors took heart from a late-in-the-day rally in U.S. stocks, with futures on indexes from Japan to Australia signaling gains as the worst quarter for global equities since 2011 comes to a close.

Futures foreshadowed a 1.7 percent rebound in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, which slid to the lowest level since January Tuesday amid an Asia-wide equity selloff as concern over China’s slowdown took hold in markets once again. Copper futures rallied, while crude oil fell as traders looked ahead to data on U.S. supplies due Wednesday. The yen held gains before reports on Japanese retail trade and factory output.

With stocks in Asia headed for their worst quarter since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the five-day holiday that starts Thursday in China will provide a reprieve from a country that has been at the epicenter of the global turmoil since devaluing its currency in August. While a jump in consumer confidence helped U.S. stocks erase losses, implied volatility remains almost double its average over the past year as uncertainty over China and the Federal Reserve’s next move keep investors on tenterhooks.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.1 percent by 8:02 a.m. Tokyo time. The U.S. benchmark reversed a drop of as much as 0.5 percent to end Tuesday up 0.1 percent. The yen was little changed at 119.80 per dollar after rising 0.7 percent the past two days, helping Japan’s currency to become the best performer among major peers the past three months. Copper futures added 0.3 percent, as U.S. oil continued to see-saw, falling 0.7 percent after rising Tuesday.

Selling in biotech and technology stocks continued in the U.S., sending the Russell 2000 Index to its longest slump since 2006 and briefly pushing the Nasdaq Composite below its August close. Ten-year Treasuries climbed, with yields sinking to a one-month low.

Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index were up 0.9 percent in most recent trading, while contracts on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Hang Seng China Enterprises indexes climbed at least 0.7 percent. FTSE China A50 Index futures gained 0.6 percent following a 2 percent drop in the Shanghai Composite Index Tuesday. Markets in South Korea resume Wednesday after a two-day holiday.

Source : Bloomberg

S&P 500 Index Trims Quarterly Drop While Apple Weighs on Nasdaq

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The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index trimmed its worst quarterly decline since 2011, as health-care shares rebounded from their est losing streak in four years.

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 1,884.03, at 4:03 in New York, and is down 4.5 percent in September, following August’s 6.3 percent retreat. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.6 percent as Apple Inc. sank 3 percent.

Stocks have been volatile in recent weeks amid confusion over the Federal Reserve’s rate-tightening policy while concern lingers that an economic slowdown in Asia will curb demand for commodities and crimp global growth. The S&P 500 is poised for its worst quarter since 2011, down 9 percent. The benchmark is 12 percent below its all-time high set in May.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate as Drop in Consumer Shares Offset Biotechs

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U.S. stocks fluctuated, with declines in consumer shares offsetting a rebound in biotechnology companies, as investors struggle to reconcile the prospects for higher interest rates with lingering concerns about slowing global growth.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,882.09 at 12:21 p.m. in New York, after rising as much as 0.9 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 13.82 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,988.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed, and the Russell 2000 Index lost 0.2 percent after slumping to an 11-month low Monday.

Stocks have been volatile in recent weeks amid confusion over the Federal Reserve’s rate tightening policy while concern lingers that an economic slowdown in Asia will curb demand for commodities and crimp global growth. The S&P 500 is poised for its worst quarter since 2011, down 8.6 percent. The benchmark is 11 percent below its all-time high set in May.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index has closed above 20 for the past 26 sessions, the longest streak since January 2012. The measure of market turbulence known as the VIX fell 1.8 percent Tuesday to 27.14 after reaching a three-week high yesterday.

A report today showed consumer confidence unexpectedly gained this month as persistent job gains helped Americans shake off the effects of tumbling stock prices. Another report showed home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 5 percent in July from the same month a year earlier, propelled by improving demand and limited supply.

Source : Bloomberg