The good news – in the sense of Abe's victory in the Japanese elections on July 21 – has already been priced into markets in Asia, and some profit-taking is underway. This explains the little effect of yet another Wall Street record on Asian stock markets, where the MSCI Asia Pacific regional index is dropping 0,3% at 13pm Tokyo time, also on the back of fears about profits in the technology sector (earnings of Google and Microsoft were lower than expected for the second quarter). However, this does not prevent the week from registering another progress for the Asian index, the fourth in a row.
The Japanese stock market lost about 1%, while the yen strengthened slightly, however remaining above 100 against the dollar, which also weakened against the euro, at 1,314. Another leap in oil which exceeds 108 dollars a barrel (Wti) and almost closes the gap with Brent, which shares 108,8. Gold, at 1292, tries again to attack 1300.
