After the consolidation session on Wall Street, this morning it was the turn of Asia, where stock markets are little changed. The MSCI Asia Pacific regional index is shedding 0,2% after hitting its highest level in a month yesterday. Last night's US data was positive, with non-durable goods orders (net of gasoline ups and downs) rising and, above all, a jump in auto sales (to 17,53 million units a annualized rates), at the highest level since January 2006.
In Japan, the central bank left the level of stimulus unchanged; today there will be monetary policy announcements from the ECB and the Bank of England.
In the currency field, the euro is also in a consolidation phase (1,315 against the dollar) and so is the yen (104,8), even if both currencies gained slightly compared to yesterday. The yuan appreciated again and, at 6,13 against the dollar, marks the strongest level since last February. Gold gained a few dollars and reached 1273,1 $/ounce. WTI oil has clearly strengthened compared to 24 hours ago and, although below yesterday's end-of-day highs, it stands at $95,1/b (102,2 Brent). Stable futures FTSE 100 and S&P500.
