(MENAFN- DailyFX) Talking Points:
China posted its first Dollar-terms trade deficit for over a year Singapore tightened monetary policy for the first time in six Asian stocks got a strong US tailwind Would you like to know more ? The DailyFX Beginners' Guide is all yours
Asian Stocks were mostly higher Friday as risk appetite continued to gain and markets looked ahead with confidence to the US corporate earnings season.
Worries about immediate Western military intervention in Syria seemed to have calmed down somewhat too, and there was no further bad news from the front-lines of the trade spat between Washington and Beijing.
Indeed, posted their first US-Dollar terms trade deficit for over year, although the Yuan-terms figures remained well in surplus. Imports and exports both rose, but the latter a little less than expected.
The Nikkei 225 ended up 0.55% with the ASX 200 in the green by 0.2%. The only notable laggard was the Shanghai Composite which was lower by 0.3% as its close loomed.
The US Dollar was broadly firmer as US yields climbed, although the Australian and New Zealand Dollars were higher too. NZD/USD has climbed back to highs last see in mid-February, and looks set to top the closing high seen back then. It comes in at 0.7388.
The Singapore Dollar made gains after the effectively tightened policy for the first time in six years. MAS said it would alter the slope of the Singapore Dollar's Nominal Effective Exchange Rate to allow for ‘modest and gradual' appreciation.
Gold prices slipped back as investors cleaved to riskier assets, while Crude oil prices also backtracked on the perceived easing of Syrian tensions. Oil looks set for a very solid weekly gain nevertheless.
There's not a huge amount of life left in this week's economic calendar but Canadian existing-home sales and the University of Michigan's venerable US consumer confidence snapshot should grab some investor attention. Focus will be on US stock futures, following Wall Street's strong session Thursday.
Resources for Traders
Whether you're new to trading or an old hand DailyFX has plenty of resources to help you. There's our indicator which shows you live how IG clients are positioned right now. We also hold and offer trading guides, with one . There's also a . Be sure to make the most of them all. They were written by our seasoned trading experts and they're all free.
--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research
Follow David on Twitter or use the Comments section below to get in touch!
MENAFN1304201800760000ID1096730670
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.