The new week has opened quietly excepting a strong fall in Chinese stock markets driven partly by fears of insufficient Chinese stimulus measures.
- So far it has been a very quiet start to the week, with Forex, commodities, and many stock markets barely moving since trading opened in Asia a few hours ago. The exception is the strong decline in Chinese stock markets, with the HSI lower by more than 2%, on fears that recent Chinese stimulus measures will not be enough to achieve the desired bolstering. Most global stock markets outside Asia are in bull markets, but since 2024 began there has been a strong bearish retracement within this trend.
- There will be a release today of Swiss CPI (inflation) data, which is expected to show month-on-month deflation of 0.1%. Today will be a key week for inflation as there will also be releases of US and Chinese inflation data.
- In the Forex market, the Japanese Yen has been the strongest major currency since the Tokyo open today. The Australian Dollar has been the weakest. There remains a valid long-term bullish trend in the EUR/USD currency pair.
- A standout asset in the market right now as 2024 gets underway is Bitcoin which is making a bullish consolidation after reaching a new 20-month high price last week above the round number at $45,000. This bullish consolidation will attract interest from traders, especially trend traders.
- In the commodities markets, Cocoa futures stand out as being well established within a long-term bullish trend and are not too far off their highs.