Asian shares mixed as investors look ahead to rate decisions

TOKYO – Asian shares were mixed Tuesday after a day of listless trading on Wall Street, as investors awaited signs on global interest rates.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.2% to 21,360.15 in morning trading.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5% to 6,618.20, while South Korea’s Kospi inched up 0.1% to 2,021.73.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up nearly 0.1% at 26,703.44, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.4% to 3,012.03.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 ended virtually flat as losses in technology and health care stocks outweighed gains in financials and other sectors. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks, which has lagged the S&P 500 this year, outpaced the rest of the market.

Investors are taking a shine to smaller company stocks in hopes that they’ll be better shielded from the fallout of the costly trade war between the U.S. and China than large multinationals.


The S&P 500 inched 0.28 points lower, or less than 0.1%, to 2,978.43. The index, which has finished higher the past two weeks, is within 1.6% of its all-time high set in late July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.05 points, or 0.1%, to 26,835.51. The Nasdaq fell 15.64 points, or 0.2%, to 8,087.44. The Russell 2000 climbed 19.06 points, or 1.3%, to 1,524.23.

The broader market has bounced back the past two weeks following volatility brought on by the trade war as Washington and Beijing imposed new tariffs on more of each other’s imported goods. Investors worry the escalation of tariffs may be dampening global economic growth and threatening to nudge the United States into a recession.

Traders are hoping for a deal between the world’s two largest economies and were encouraged last week by news that talks will resume in October.

A mixed bag of economic data has also kept Wall Street focused on central banks and whether they will continue taking measures to shore up economic growth. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank doesn’t expect a recession and will take necessary actions to maintain growth.

Economists expect the Fed to cut interest rates when it meets next week.


Separately, the European Central Bank is expected to unveil new monetary stimulus measures on Thursday to help shore up the region’s economy.

“Markets look to be adrift ahead of the slew of events this week including the likes of the European Central Bank where further support for the markets is expected,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.

“As far as the risk sentiment is concerned, the improvement carries forth from the previous week in anticipation of the various central bank meetings.”

ENERGY:

Benchmark crude oil rose 42 cents to $58.27 a barrel. It rose $1.33 to $57.85 a barrel Monday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 46 cents to $63.05 a barrel.

CURRENCIES:

The dollar rose to 107.39 Japanese yen from 106.96 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1046 from $1.1037. /gsg

source: business.inquirer.net

Characteristics Fit For CFD Trading

If you are familiar with CFD (contract for difference) trading you would know that it is not for everybody. The job is demanding, high-stressed, fast-paced, and downright difficult. Nevertheless, there are individuals whose innate characteristics are suited for such job. Here are specific personality characteristics that are fit for successful traders.

Realistic CFD Trading

CFD trading is not an exact science. Losses are possible as much as gaining. Nobody, no matter how good they are can guarantee a winning trade all the time. There are a lot of factors that come into play during trading and most of them are outside anybody’s control. This is the reason why being realistic is important for a trader to excel. If you want to go into this kind of business then you have a complete grasp of what is happening all around you. Even if you plan on earning an identified amount, you have to be open to the possibility of not hitting it if odds are not favorable. Realistic people are grounded. They are accepting of circumstances, whether good or bad. They have a clear grasp of the fact that there are just certain happenings that are beyond control. They do not brood long and continuously move on.

Driven

Being successful in CFD trading requires passion and immeasurable amount of drive. As earlier mentioned, this business is not easy. There will be a lot of times that you might feel discouraged and frustrated because of failures. However, if you stop and quit every time things get tough then you will not be present to see better days. Individuals who are driven have high endurance. They can stay in a task for a long time until they figure it out. They are tireless in pursuing what they want. They don’t stop until they reach their goals because they have to satisfy their need for achievement.

Optimistic

True optimists do not live in a make-believe world, where everything is pretty and colorful. If you are a true-blue optimistic person it means that you don’t easily get bogged down by set-backs. You have the ability to bounce back whenever you encounter failures. You have an attitude that readily sees what you can use to do better, even during failings. Being optimistic is important when doing CFD trading. Traders encounter situations that may seem unbearable and without a healthy attitude it would be hard to go on and improve.

Flexible

There is no clear cut strategies that can guarantee a winning trade every time. Every strategy is dependent on the kind of situation. There are even a lot of instances wherein there is a need to change techniques during trading. This is where being flexible would come in. If you are flexible it is very unlikely that you are stubborn. You will not have any difficulty changing strategies mid-way. You wouldn’t stick to things that are not working just because you thought it would. You have an open-mind and can readily adapt. If you are not flexible then you may end up losing all your account credit sticking to what you believe in; even though, it no longer applies.

Sociable

Technically, traders work alone. However, every trade involves numerous traders, meaning people. Essentially individuals in the trading business are indirectly dealing with a lot of people all the time. If you are sociable, you can mingle with different kinds of people, most especially traders. You may not be aware of it during the start of contact but you get to take home valuable knowledge whenever you interact with others. This is particularly true if you have contacts with some of the best people in the field. You can learn so much from their wealth of experience.

source:  marriedwithdebt.com

Dollar off lows but still vulnerable as Fed meeting looms

SYDNEY - The dollar clung onto modest overnight gains early in Asia on Tuesday, but stayed near a nine-month trough as investors bet the Federal Reserve will this week set the course for its massive stimulus program to be maintained into early next year.

The dollar index was steady at 79.344 after drifting up 0.2 percent on Monday. However, it remained not far off Friday's 78.998—a low not seen since Feb. 1.

A break there could pave the way for a test of this year's trough of 78.918 and then the September 2012 low of 78.601.

Traders said the market lacked conviction and moves were driven more by flows and position adjustments ahead of the Fed policy meeting over Tuesday and Wednesday rather than by fundamentals.

Indeed, investors would probably have sold the dollar if going by the latest string of data that suggested a flagging US economy.

Figures on Tuesday showed US manufacturing output barely rose in September and contracts to buy previously owned homes recorded their largest drop in nearly 3-1/2 years.

"The dollar's ability to gain against this backdrop likely reflects positioning, with USD shorts having built up quickly in October according to our metrics," analysts at BNP Paribas wrote in a client note.

That has left the dollar increasingly less vulnerable to negative news and with more scope to rally if data begins to beat expectations again, they added.

Traders also said it is unlikely the dollar would react too negatively should the Fed choose to wait for more evidence of how badly Washington's budget battle has hurt the US economy before deciding on whether or not to scale back stimulus.

The dollar index has fallen 1.1 percent so far this month, adding to a 2.3 percent slide in September.

One of the key beneficiaries of the dollar's decline has been the euro, which as recently as Friday rose to its highest since November 2011 at $1.3833.

It last traded at $1.3788 after slipping 0.1 percent on Monday. Traders see chart resistance around $1.3800/70 with a convincing break there setting the scene for a retest of the Oct. 2011 peak of $1.4248.

Against the yen, the dollar bought 97.66, having gained 0.3 percent, while the euro fetched 134.62 yen after Monday's 0.2 percent rise.

A standout mover in early Asian trade was the Australian dollar, which dipped about a third of a US cent to a session low of $0.9535 after the head of Australia's central bank again tried to talk down the currency.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens said it was likely the Aussie dollar would fall materially in the future given the country's declining terms of trade, a shift that would be welcomed to trade-exposed sectors of the domestic economy.

The Aussie last stood at $0.9542, well off a five-month high of $0.9758 set last Wednesday. —Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

European stocks slip after Fed-inspired rally

London – European stock markets fell in opening deals on Friday, as traders took profits from recent gains after the US Federal Reserve's shock decision to keep its aggressive stimulus program intact.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 0.21 percent to 6,611.39 points, the Paris CAC 40 reversed 0.25 percent to 4,195.63, and Frankfurt's DAX 30 eased 0.01 percent to 8,693.32 points from Thursday's closing levels.

Equities in Europe had soared on Thursday, joining a global rally as investors welcomed the US central bank's surprise decision. – Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com