Nikkei

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.

After threatening for weeks to generate a sizeable volatility event, the combination of higher bond yields and US dollar looks to have delivered.

Given the driver of the Nikkei’s performance, keep an eye on the Nasdaq’s performance given it continues to bump up against downtrend resistance on an almost daily basis.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 appears susceptible to downside having surged to fresh multi-decade highs earlier this year.

USD/JPY is breaking higher, adding to upside risks for Japanese exporter earnings.

Whilst sentiment remains negative for global equities, European bourses have been the worst hit – which is likely due to the close proximity to the Ukraine crisis.

It was a volatile week of trade amidst the carnage of Russia’s invasion, of Ukraine, and traders would be wise to remain nimble as the situation remains fluid.

US equity index futures rallied on Monday following reports that Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin agreed ‘in principle’ to hold a summit.

The jury remains out as to whether gains on Wall Street are the earlier part of a bull-trend, or simply a corrective bounce of a larger, bearish move.

After an impressive recovery through the first half of this week, the index is testing a critical technical zone in the 27,300-27,600 area - what's next?

Global equity markets were mostly lower in January. But even the few that posted gains had to endure a white-knuckle ride along the way.

Whilst both indices have fallen around -5% over the past week, the Hang Seng retains the more bullish structure of the two.

Leading the recovery in Asian stock markets yesterday, the Nikkei 225 finished the day 2.08% higher at 28517, boosted by strong gains in semiconductor stocks, including Tokyo Electron and Advantest.

It looked like Santa’s rally was underway post-FOMC with S&P 500 futures hitting an all-time high. Until US indices handed back all gains to close lower for the day.