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Nikkei 225 closes lower by 0.76% at 22,770.36

A down day for Asian stocks

Nikkei 16-07

A poor day for Asian equities as profit-taking activity was the reason most alluded to for the drop after the Nikkei also touched a one-month high yesterday, not to mention the slump in Chinese equities as well.

Tokyo reporting a daily record of 280 new virus cases added to the softer tone in general too. The mood in US futures also isn’t helping, with E-minis seen down 0.4% currently.

The Hang Seng is down 1.1% while the Shanghai Composite is seeing losses of 2.3% now.
In the currencies space, this is seeing the dollar keep mildly firmer but nothing too significant as trading ranges remain relatively modest for the time being.

Nikkei 225 closes higher by 2.22% at 22,784.74

Asian equities buoyed to kick start the new week

Nikkei 13-07

It has been a solid session for Asian equities, with the Nikkei closing at a one-month high while we are also seeing the Hang Seng post 1.1% gains and the Shanghai Composite also seen higher by 1.9% currently.

The positive spillovers from US trading at the end of last week is helping, but also the fact that US futures are keeping more optimistic so far today.
Some market participants are pointing to this Pfizer, BioNTech vaccine story as a factor, following the more positive results that were reported two weeks ago here.
In any case, risk is on and the market is looking to keep the more positive mood going into European trading today. As such, the dollar is weaker across the board alongside the yen, with AUD/USD hovering around 0.6980 currently.