by Martin Armstrong
Armstrong Economics
All core Asian markets closed down but off their lows. Shanghai was down almost 4% in the morning session and so a -1.3% close almost felt like an up day! All eyes still seem to be concentrating on the RMB against the USD, fixed on every daily move. It is worth monitoring the RMB against a basket rather than the strengthening USD daily – more on this soon.
The Nikkei was refused the 17k handle closing down 0.8% and even a 1% rally in overnight futures trading keeps us below the psychological 17k number. The stronger JPY was a reason offered for the weakness in Exporters (Nissan -1.3%, Honda -1%) which dragged the Index lower on the day.