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Chinese Stocks Surge Again, Taking Others With Them, ASX Lags

Chinese Stocks Surge Again, Taking Others With Them, ASX Lags

Asian Stocks Talking Points:

  • The Shanghai Composite surged by more than 4% as its close approached
  • Most other bourses came up with it
  • The US Dollar gained on European rivals

Find out what retail foreign exchange investors make of your favorite currency’s chances right now at the DailyFX Sentiment Page

Chinese stocks had leaped by more than 4% by their afternoon on Monday, with the Shanghai Composite index on course for its best day since March 2016.

Investors there were reportedly still cheering the market-supportive commentary, which came from a broad cross-section of Chinese officials in the wake of official growth figures which missed forecasts. Shanghai’s vigor was enough to see Asian stocks higher generally –with the Nikkei 225 up 0.5%- although Australia’s ASX failed to share in the good times.

Politics seems to be weighing that index down. A crucial by-election in the affluent Sydney suburb of Wentworth at the weekend produced a big swing against the ruling Liberal Party which will now lose its parliamentary majority.

Current Prime Minister Scott Morrison only assumed office in August and is himself the sixth PM in just eleven years. That’s a pretty high turnover and speculation has now risen that the next election will produce yet another change. There has to be a vote by May, 2019.

The ASX 200 seems to have settled into a broad daily chart range trade but, having ceded the psychologically crucial 6,000 point earlier this month, is looking rather precarious.

Chinese stocks surge again, taking others with them, asx lags

For the moment support in the 5829 region looks safe enough, but the weekly and monthly closing levels to come could offer important clues to the uncommitted.

The US Dollar was higher against both the Euro and Sterling in Asia. Brexit wrangling continues to dog both currencies with the Euro also beset by worries over Italy’s budget, which has drawn heavy criticism from other Eurozone members.

Gold prices held up despite the vigor of Asia Pacific stock markets, with plenty of global uncertainties in play to support the oldest haven. Still, DailyFX Senior Currency Strategist Ilya Spivak cautioned that the current chart setup may not be favorable to the bulls.

Crude oil prices were steady, reportedly as a rising US production-rig count weighed against sanctions against major producer Iran.

The coming session is very light in terms of economic data on tap out of either Europe or North America, with no first-tier numbers or speakers to come.

Resources for Traders

Whether you’re new to trading or an old hand DailyFX has plenty of resources to help you. There’s our trading sentiment indicator which shows you live how IG clients are positioned right now. We also hold educational and analytical webinars and offer trading guides, with one specifically aimed at those new to foreign exchange markets. There’s also a bitcoin guide. Be sure to make the most of them all. They were written by our seasoned trading experts and they’re all free.

— Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research

Follow David on Twitter @DavidCottleFX or use the Comments section below to get in touch!

Published at Mon, 22 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

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Venezuelan Senate Outlaws the Creation of the Petro Cryptocurrency

Most people are well aware of how Venezuela wants to create its own cryptocurrency. Known as the Petro, this new form of money is backed by the country’s natural oil reserves. Although president Maduro has planned to issue quite a few of these coins in the near future, that may not happen after all. More specifically, the Venezuelan Congress outlawed the Petro cryptocurrency altogether. In their opinion, this new currency is an “effort to illegally mortgage the country’s oil reserves”.

Venezuela is a country on the verge of collapsing financially. A lot of problems have arisen in recent years and the situation only grows direr. Coming up with a solution to these problems has not been easy. President Maduro has experimented with a few different solutions, but not made any real progress. Instead, he wants to resort to creating a national cryptocurrency, known as the Petro. Backing the value of this currency are Venezuela’s natural oil reserves.

What Will Happen to Venezuela’s Petro?

On paper, this concept makes a lot of sense. It would provide some financial relief for the struggling nation in the coming months and years. Unfortunately, Venezuela’s government isn’t too keen on this idea whatsoever. In fact, they outlawed this cryptocurrency from being created and issued altogether. A remarkable turn of events, although such a move was to be expected at some point. The opposition-run parliament feels President Maduro wants to illegally mortgage the country’s oil reserves. Some very harsh language is being used to make this point even more apparent.

Issuing the $6bn worth of Petro will not happen anytime soon due to this decision. Venezuela needs hard currency and evade financial sanctions at the same time. Without this cryptocurrency, that may become an insurmountable challenge. At the same time, financial experts tear this currency will lead to even more financial mismanagement by the government. The big question is whether or not investors are even interested in the Petro at this stage. Right now, that doesn’t appear to be the case, but things can always change in the future.

For the time being, it remains to be seen how this situation will evolve. It is evident Venezuela’s economy is crumbling as we speak. This situation has gone from bad to worse in quick succession. A national cryptocurrency may very well be the country’s last resort. Unless the Senate reverses its decision, that currency will never exist in an official capacity. This is a very interesting situation well worth keeping an eye on. After all, the Petro may set an international precedent in more ways than one.

Header image courtesy of Shutterstock

The post Venezuelan Senate Outlaws the Creation of the Petro Cryptocurrency appeared first on NewsBTC.

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