China Drives Market Both Directions
The Australian Stock Market followed its international counterparts and was sold off from the open this morning. At the lowest point, the ASX 200 was down 94 points. The selloff changed course after China’s PMI showed the manufacturing sector continued to expand which lifted Hong Kong and China’s indexes after last Thursday and Friday’s policy driven sell off.
The selling on the Australian market is across all sectors except the energy sector, which was spared by the firmer crude prices. The materials and financials sectors which carry the strongest weighting on the index are down over 1%, illustrating the direct influence which China’s policy and demand for Australian resources have on equity prices.
Tomorrow, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting tomorrow on the cash rate will have traders watching closely as the AUDUSD pair moves closer to the recent 0.7550 support level. Although the consensus is no cut, it will be interesting to see if the triple bottom support will be able to hold another time.
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