Asian Markets Mostly Lower
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Friday, tracking the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street and following the recent strong gains leading up to U.S. President Joe Biden s inauguration. Optimism about ramped up efforts to combat the coronavirus and more stimulus under the new Biden administration have helped to prop up the markets in recent days.
The Australian market is declining after three days of gains and following the mixed cues from Wall Street. Investors also turned cautious as they digested mixed Australian economic data.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 10.60 points or 0.16 percent to 6,813.10, after touching a low of 6,809.00. The broader All Ordinaries Index is lower by 12.40 points or 0.17 percent to 7,094.70. The Australian market closed at an eleven-month high on Thursday.
This graph from SEEK compares the monthly job ad volumes to the annual average, with postings peaking in January, February and October. Picture: SEEK. SEEK s Senior Employment Trends Analyst Leigh Broderick said these seasonal shifts in volume were impacted by holiday periods like Easter and Christmas, as well as the start and end of the financial year. While there are always plenty of roles advertised on SEEK we can see certain times of the year have more opportunities than others, said Mr Broderick, speaking to news.com.au. The start of the calendar year in January and February see a boost in job ads as businesses prepare for the year ahead. There is also a boost in job ads in October and November as businesses prepare for the holiday period.
Annual retail turnover still up 9.4% Australian banks card spending data point to pick up in January Retail sales seen contributing to Dec qtr GDP growth- economists (Adds economist comment, A$ reax)
SYDNEY, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Australian retailers suffered their biggest sales drop in eight months in December, recoiling after consumers brought forward their Christmas shopping although timely card spending data by banks point to a rebound in the New Year.
The 4.2% month-on-month drop in sales was spread across five of the six retail categories, led by household goods, department stores and clothing, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported on Friday.
Australia Retail Sales Sink 4 2% In December forextv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forextv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
1/22/2021 12:33:08 AM GMT | By Ross J Burland
Australia December preliminary Retail Sales arrived at -4.2% MoMs/adj vs the Reuters poll -2.5%, which tipped the Aussie lower on the smaller time frames.
The data follows solid growth the previous month as consumers brought forward their Christmas shopping, Reuters noted. Falls were recorded in five of the six retail categories, led by household goods, department stores and clothing, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported.
Annual turnover was up 9.4%.
The ABS will release its final estimate on Feb 5.
AUD/USD technical analysis
The price is defying gravity (markets may prefer to see the revisions on next release) and taking on the daily resistance structure: