Trading has remained muted as major markets recuperate from a lengthy weekend. Investors are not reacting dramatically to the agreement regarding US debt ceiling. Instead, they are casting a cautious eye towards Congress, awaiting indications of how the deal will be received. Compounding the apprehension, a slew of significant economic data is slated for release in the latter half of this week. Reports such as Eurozone CPI flash and US non-farm payrolls are bound to generate increasing market volatility as the week progresses. In the midst of these developments, the currency markets are seeing Yen emerge as one of the stronger performers this week, alongside the Swiss Franc. However, it's important to note that Yen's strength seems to be a result of digesting the deep losses incurred earlier in the month. This suggests a resumption of the sell-off could occur at any time, contingent on the broader trends in equity and bond markets. Meanwhile, commodity currencies are bearing the brunt of the downturn, led by Australian Dollar, which is succumbing to the weight of faltering Chinese equities. Dollar and Euro are straddling a middle ground, showing a mixed performance. Technically, AUD/CAD is now extending recent down trend from 0.9545, with break of last week's low. Near term outlook will stay bearish as long as 0.8941 support turned resistance holds. Next target is 61.8% projection of 0.9545 to 0.8941 from 0.9104 at 0.8731. A simultaneous focus is when AUD/USD would break through 0.6489 temporary low to resume the corresponding down trend from 0.7156 too. In Asia, at the time of writing, Nikkei is up 0.42%. Hong Kong HSI is down -0.75%. China Shanghai SSE is down -0.92%. Singapore Strait Times is up 0.04%. Japan 10-year JGB yield is down -0.001 at 0.435. |