- Asian stocks mixed to down slightly: Nikkei -.78%, China flat, HK +.26%
- Australia CPI +1.6% YoY vs +2.2% expected, +2.6% previous
- China leading econ index +.8% to 230.6 (preliminary)
- European stocks up solidly; Eurostoxx +1.02%, Dax +0.90%
- Finland PPI +1.4% YoY vs +1.8% expected, +2.2% prev
- France consumer confidence 88 vs 87 expected, 87 prev
- Nokia bonds downgraded to junk by Fitch
- Dutch PM Rutte to press austerity as election looms
This was a quiet night that interestingly saw S&P futures recoup nearly all of their Monday losses, while the DAX remains nearly 3% lower. These two world leaders generally move in tandem, along with most markets, and this disparity is fairly unusual. We can credit the weak European data and looming Fed FOMC meeting tomorrow for the difference, but I would look for that gap to narrow later in the week.
So far today we've seen a small "risk on" shuffling with stocks and commodities better, and government bonds a bit weaker. The dollar is just about flat. Australia's CPI was noticeably tame, and as you recall this is a major pre-condition for the RBA to begin to reduce rates. The Aussie is flat though, meaning the market saw that one coming. AUD is down a bit over 5 figures from its 1.0856 high at the end of February. Finland's very low PPI underscores the global trend of global disinflation.
Since there is little data to speak of, here is an update to the S&P weekly chart we posted on April 3. The market hit the convergence on the nose, and has turned down from the point of strong resistance. From my viewpoint there is still room below.