Nikkei 225 Ends Higher
It was a pretty mixed session in Asian stocks on Tuesday with some profit-taking as the crude oil plunged again giving up over 30% since Monday morning. The tension between China and USA reemerge as the USA accuses China of the coronavirus spread and starts a serious investigation. On the other hand, a gradual reopening of the economy in many countries helps risky assets, ahead of a busy week from central banks and corporate earnings. Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Facebook are among the companies that will release the quarterly earnings reports later on the week. The Bank of Japan yesterday removed the limits of its Japanese Government Bonds and increased the purchases of corporate debt.
Wall Street finished higher for the fourth consecutive trading session, and now the main indices are 20% below the February record highs.
Nikkei 225 finished 0.11% lower at 19,759. The Singapore Straits Times is 0.26% lower at 2,542. The Shanghai Composite is 0.14% lower at 2,812, while the Hang Seng Index is 0.76% higher at 24,456. The Aussie ASX 200 index ended flat for the second day at 5,217.
On the economic news, the U.S. Consumer confidence will be released later with analysts’ expectations at 92 in April, well below the March’s read of 120.
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Nikkei 225 Stalled at 50-Day Moving Average
Nikkei 225 ended slightly lower today as the index failed to break above the critical resistance at the 50-day moving average. Investors will wait for the Fed and ECB decisions for fresh clues on the monetary policy. Nikkei 225 is 20% higher since the March lows.
Looking at the daily chart, immediate resistance for the Nikkei 225 index stands at 19,841 the daily high. The next resistance for the index stands at 20,000 the high from March 11. If the index breaks higher, the next supply zone is at 20,343 the high from March 9.
On the other side, first support stands at 19,638 today’s low. If the Nikkei index moves below, then the next support will be met at 19,394 the low from yesterday’s trading session. In case of more selling pressure, the next support zone stands at 18,902 low from April 22.