The MSCI Asia Apex 50 Index is stable in the early afternoon in Japan. Last night's Wall Street anguish (exaggerated, given that the economic data was less bad than it appears) did not affect the Asian markets. The Nikkei climbs 0,4% and the Shanghai 'Composite' is at yesterday's levels.
The US data is mixed: the strong increase in new home sales was offset by a substantial drop in durable goods orders, which however is mostly due to the very volatile series of aircraft orders (halved in December compared to November).
In the currency field, the yen is close to yesterday's levels (118,1 against the dollar), while the euro, which had fallen sharply after the victory of Syriza in Greece, regained ground for the second day and 1,134.
Oil still weak, at 45,4 $/b (49,1 for Brent). Gold tries again to attack 1300 and reaches 1290 $/ounce. Futures on the S&P500 are up sharply (+0,6%).
