by Martin Armstrong
Armstrong Economics
A strong opening for the Nikkei, almost 1% but only to turn ahead of the lunch break. Although price action was whippy the volume traded was very poor. The afternoon session was a retracement of earlier losses but again in light volume. We closed the day up +0.6% but all eyes and ears will be firmly on Janet Yellen on Friday when she speaks at Jackson Hole. Shanghai was an even tighter trading range with summer well and truly playing a major role.
Initially, we had German GDP to provide direction but sadly none was forthcoming, after we saw an unchanged (+0.4%m/m 3.1% y/y) print. Rumors were floating of possible buyers for some European bank assets which certainly had an impact on shares prices but details were few and far between. Overall, a positive day for core indices but for FTSE which failed to rally as the currency continues to bounce from recent lows.