Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
Asian financial markets opened today after the Christmas Holiday to thin holiday trade. Market in the Asian and Pacific Rim were mostly lower this morning as the Dow Jones failed, once again on Friday to close above the psychological important 20,000 level.
The Australian S&P ASX 200 was around 0.2 percent lower. The Melbourne police said they had foiled a terror plot earlier in the day. The market shrugged the news off. In New Zealand, the NZX 50 rose 0.2 percent. Both of these markets operated on shortened holiday hours after the Christmas holiday.
In South Korea, the Kospi Composite Index was flat this morning. Pharmaceutical shares did rally as the country is battling its worst-ever case of the bird flu. Hanmi Pharma was up 4.5 percent and Daewoong Pharma rose 1.65 percent after South Korea killed twenty five percent of its poultry stock to contain the outbreak.
Chinese Shares Follow the Mood of the Asian Markets
Shares on mainland China were also mostly lower as the Shanghai Composite fell over 0.9 percent. The Smaller Shenzhen Composite lost 1.1 percent. Coal producers were mostly lower as Datong Coal shed over 1.7 percent and Shanxi Xishan Coal lost over 3.5 percent. Coal prices in general were lower today putting pressure on this industry.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Composite Index lost 0.3 percent weighed down by financial stocks. Both Bank of East Asia and Hang Seng Bank each lost over one percent.
Financial markets in Japan were shuttered today for the Emperor’s birthday.
Thin holiday trade is likely to continue in most of the global equity and financial markets up till the New Year holiday break. This will be light volume trading, with the absence of news events causing price drifting as well as some instruments to trade erratically
