Nikkei

You don’t see unwinds of Japanese yen carry trades like we’re seeing right now outside of crisis periods. It doesn’t feel like we’re in a crisis, making me wonder just how long the current bearish move will last?

NZD/USD looks terrible on the charts, weighed down by the RBNZ’s dovish pivot and renewed concerns towards the outlook for the Chinese economy. While that cyclical play looks ill, a bounce in Nikkei 225 futures has provide a decent long setup into US tech earnings.

The China A50 has shown early signs of stabilising around support levels after a 4-week decline. The bear case for the Nikkei is not dead, but it may be sleeping whilst it remains rangebound on the weekly chart.

Forex markets mostly retraced against Wednesday's CPI and FOMC moves. And that may have set AUD/USD up nicely for a cheeky long into the weekend. The Nikkei however is down for a third day after failing below key resistance levels.

The next 24 hours will be the eight time in 10 years that a US CPI report lands on the same day as an FOMC meeting, and it has traders on tenterhooks. Today we look at USD/JPY, Nikkei 225 and the ASX 200.

GBP/JPY is coiling up and primed to fire, sitting in a strong uptrend while bumping up against horizontal resistance dating back to when the Bank of Japan initiated a record FX market intervention to support the Japanese yen in April.

Asian indices were quick to rally out of the gate on Monday after a strong lead from Wall Street, sending Nikkei futures 1% higher. Gold looks worse for wear and we eye a potential move down to $2300.

Downwardly revised GDP for the US in Q1 weighed on Wall Street indices ahead of a key inflation report, yet the ASX and Nikkei managed to bounce form their lows. We look at where we think they might head next.

USD/JPY and Nikkei 225 futures have been heavily influenced by US bond yields recently, meaning Tuesday’s US consumer price inflation report looms as critical for how Japanese markets may fare over the short to medium term. The bias for all remains lower in the absence of another hot inflation number.

It was a lively session for equity traders in Asia on Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 and DAX futures hitting record highs. The Nikkei made its inevitable run to 39k and touched a record high, by a cat's whisker.

If there was ever a day for Japan’s Nikkei 225 to overcome its demons and take out the record high set in December 1989, few screen better than today. The ducks look to have lined up for bulls. If we can’t set a new peak, it may provide a subtle warning that the market has run too hard, too fast.

Appetite remained sour on Wednesday, and that has been a clear drag on AUD/USD ahead of today’s employment report.

Recent adoptees of a bullish Nikkei stance are facing their first real test with a distinct risk-off tone settling in across the Asian region, seeing the index reverse slightly after hitting fresh 34-year highs on Monday.

Speculation surrounding the future of the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) yield curve control program continues to thwart attempts to push USD/JPY higher, combining with the threat of intervention from the BOJ to cap on rallies in the pair.

Should the BOJ fail to reach escape velocity from ultra-easy monetary policy settings, it will have implications for the Nikkei 225 and USD/JPY as we move towards 2024.

US bond yields pulled back to give risk assets a reprieve from their selloff on Wednesday. But with bond market implied volatility also pulling back, perhaps there's a little more room for a bounce for the Nikkei and S&P 500.

Nikkei 225 sits on a major support, making near-term price action potentially important for its longer-term trajectory.