Asian markets advance on Apple's strong earnings; Majors, in range ~ Forex Special

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Asian markets advance on Apple's strong earnings; Majors, in range

Forex Special (Barcelona) - Asian markets are going through gains on Wednesday, after positive quarterly earnings by Apple lifted investors' confidence and eased concerns about downbeat revenue figures released previously. In FX markets major currencies have remained moving sideways.

Japanese Nikkei Index edged op 0.2 at midday time in Japan to close a 3-day negative streak, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.7%, and South Korean Kospi Index rose 0.6%.

Investors sentiment was boosted by Apple's corporate earnings report. The firm's income soared 78%, to $3.25 billion, while its revenue for the second quarter increased 61% to $ 15.7 billion, its record high.

Apple's results have boosted confidence in the markets offsetting concerns about weak earning figures by Texas instruments or IBM, and favoured shares in the technological sector, with Sony Corp going 1.3% higher, and Samsung Electronics 1.5% up

Euro sideways ahead of banks' stress tests

EUR/USD pullback from 1.3025, fresh 2-month high reached on Tuesday, found support at 1.2840 on early US session, and the pair bounced up, to consolidate in a rage around 1.2900 during Wednesdays Asian session.

GBP/USD attempted to rise on Tuesday's Asian session although the pair, capped at 1.5310, plunged after weak UK public sector's finance figures, to bottom at 1.5150 and take back lost ground, to consolidate between 1.5250 and 1.5300 during Asian trade.

USD/JPY attempted to break higher on Tuesday and on Tuesday and, managed to break above 87.20 resistance to peak at 87.55, and pullback during Asian session to 87.05 low.