Asia And Europe Higher, But Traders Are Cautious Ahead Of ECB And BOE Me

Asian markets closed mixed today but mostly higher by adding some gains. Investors felt confident during the Asian trading session and picked up the positive momentum after better than anticipated economic data released in the US yesterday. However, traders are cautious ahead of a major economic data release in the US- Non Farm payroll and the volume during the Asian trading session stayed lower than average. This data will be closely watched by the Federal Reserve Bank and their decision of tapering the quantitative easing could be heavily influenced by this data.

The Hang Seng Index was the best performing index during the session which closed with a gain of 1.60%. The index is down nearly -8.15% for a month. The Shanghai index was the second best performer and closed with a gain of 0.59%. However, the Nikkei index continued its second day of slide and closed in a negative territory again with a minor loss of -0.26%.

Energy sector stayed stronger during the session on the back of political turmoil in Egypt. Shares of Cnooc Ltd jumped nearly by 4% during the session. Inpex Corp in Hong Kong and Woodside petroleum in Tokyo also soared and closed with a gain of 0.1% and 2.5% respectively.

European stock markets are also trading sharply higher during the early hours of trading. Investors are eagerly looking to the Mario Draghi’s speech and will be looking for any sign of firework during his speech. The euro zone’s debt crisis was once gain on the front face yesterday due to an increasing ten year bond yield in Portugal and this could be the main focus during his speech. Mark Carney the new governor of the bank of the England will also deliver his speech and this will also be main focus among traders.

DISCLOSURE & DISCLAIMER: The above is for informational purposes only and NOT to be construed as specific trading advice. responsibility for trade decisions is solely with the reader.

by Naeem Aslam