Wednesday morning, the S&P 500 Index e-mini futures (ES-Z2) traded higher by 4.25 points to $1450.00 per contract. Traders and investors are betting on a fiscal cliff deal to occur before the end of the year. The big problem for the markets will be when the fiscal cliff deal actually happens.
Any fiscal cliff deal will clearly slow down the economy in the near-term. This is probably why the central banks have put the pedal to the metal when it comes to money printing. Traders should still expect volatility in the near-term as the politicians continue to talk about the fiscal cliff deal.
Tuesday night, the Nikkei 225 Index (Japan) was the big winner in Asia closing higher by 2.39 percent. This recent surge in the Nikkei 225 Index is caused by a pledge to print more money by the Japanese leaders. Central banks have now gone wild, they are all printing money at an alarming rate. In any case, asset prices are climbing on the news.
As long as the U.S. markets are strong, most of the leading Japanese ADR's could trade higher as well. Some leading Japanese equities that could be in play today include the iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ), Toyota Motor Corp (TM), Honda Motor Co Ltd (HMC), and Canon Inc (CAJ).
Below you may find the video.