Trade Deadline Delayed – “Substantial Progress”

Monday started on a buoyant note as the weekend negotiations between the US and the Chinese officials on structural issues, including intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture among others were productive which encouraged President Trump to extend the 1^st March deadline.

Asian stocks and trade-sensitive currencies like the Antipodeans are flashing green. Given that the deadline has been extended, the chances of a trade deal between the two world largest economies also rises which is boding well with investors.

• MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose by 0.5% as of writing. Asian stocks edged higher as investors are cheering up the latest signs of progress.

Source: Bloomberg Terminal

In the Australian share market, the real estate sector was the biggest dragger on the ASX today. However, the broad optimism in the market helped the index to close in positive territory despite paring gains in the afternoon trade.

• USDCNH – The Yuan is climbing higher sending the USDCNH pair to its lowest level since July 2018.

 USDCNH (Weekly Chart)

Source: GO MT4

• The Antipodeans being trade-sensitive currencies are finding buyers on trade optimism. However, we can see that AUDUSD and NZDUSD are finding resistance as domestic fundamentals are keeping a lid on the gains. After a strong Retail Sales figures, the NZD pairs gapped higher on the open. However, the pairs are unable to keep the bullish momentum due to the weak fundamentals. On the technical side, the pairs are in the overbought conditions as per the RSI.

NZDUSD and AUDUSD (Hourly Chart)

Source: GO MT4

 The move in the financial markets in the Asian session following the “delay” announcement has not been huge, but it lifted sentiment and brought relief to the markets!