Asian shares track Wall St retreat on interest rate worries

Asian shares tracked a retreat on Wall Street after details from last month’s Federal Reserve meeting showed the central bank plans to be aggressive in fighting inflation.

You could automate the headlines. Like the machine learning systems that automate most stock trades and which are gamed for the latest algorithms and processors.

Wall Street is happy with its stream of QE but fluctuates depending upon the intensity of its flow.

Add in disaster capitalism info and there you go. There are many if they had access to capital could profit but natch.

A quick read of this article would lend you to conclude that Asian stocks closed down to 1.6% following a host of economic news and a bull market day in the U.S.

All true. But a stronger read should have included the fact that Japan's index of leading economic indicators in Japan - a gauge of the economy a few months ahead, compiled using data such as job offers and consumer sentiment - declined to 100.9 in February of 2022 from 102.5 a month earlier, from a preliminary reading. Marking the lowest reading since last September of last year.

A stronger reading would have included the fact that Japan's index of coincident economic indicators in Japan, consisting of a range of data including factory output, employment, and retail sales, edging down to a three-month low of 95.5 in February 2022 from an upwardly revised 95.6 a month earlier, from a flash figure.

A stronger article also would have shown that foreign exchange reserves in Japan decreased significantly to $1,356,071 million in March 2022, down from $1,384,573 million the previous month.

Mostly Japanese data from February (Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February). Brace yourselves for next month.

Next on the menu, for the markets to ponder . . .

The yield on the benchmark Japan 10-year JGB crossed 0.25% for the first time since January 2016.

If you haven't been keeping up, the Bank of Japan is continuing to heavily defend its 0.25% yield target on the 10-year JGB, as well as reiterating support for a weak yen.

Next up: Japan's current account and consumer confidence.

Fasten your seat belts.

There are certain annual cycles in the US markets.

April is tax season, so people tend to sell to pay unexpected personal taxes in the first few weeks of the month.

Nov-March tend to be up months for the US markets.

All the other months, I wait for weakness or corrections to buy, when I'm not fully invested.

This is nothing new.