Asian markets look set to finish trading week in positive territory

Asian stocks look set to finish the week in mostly positive territory on hopes of a smooth Greek election and possible upside out of the G20 meeting.

All eyes will be on the US Federal Reserve next week with the key question – will there be another round of quantitative easing – on all traders’ minds.

The Australian dollar held its recent run above parity against the US dollar through most of the trading session today, last buying 100.25 US cents. The 50-day moving average is currently at around 100.72 – perhaps the next technical level to test.

Copper is slowly climbing above the US$3.30/lb level, last at US$3.37/lb with a few more positive sessions perhaps enough to see a test of the next support range US$3.60-65/lb –within the next few months.

The Euro is buying 126.41 US cents and the dollar yen continues to fall, last at 78.90.

In regional corporate news, Malaysian Airlines System Bhd said it intends to almost double its regional destination footprint within the next three years as part of a turnaround strategy after five straight quarterly losses. Shares were last trading flat.

In Hong Kong, Esprit Holdings booked solid gains of above 8% at the time of writing after heavy losses over the past few days. It was last slightly above HK$10. Regional casino operators Sands China was again one of the losers, down around 3.7%.

In Singapore, investors will be disappointed if media reports are true that Manchester United has abandoned plans to pursue a Singapore IPO and instead looks set to opt for an American listing.

Even if the group is successful in raising the originally planned $1bn for 30% of the company, it would imply an EV/EBITDA somewhere near 21x depending on where earnings finish off this year – a high premium that isn’t exactly a bargain for Singaporean traders.

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