Equities

European stocks declined for the first week in six after a report showed the U.S. economy grew slower that forecast in the fourth quarter and talks continued between Greece and its creditors for a debt-swap deal.

Asian stocks rose for a sixth week, with the regional benchmark posting its longest winning streak since 2010, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke pledged to keep interest rates near zero until 2014 and India eased curbs on lending. 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.9 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi Index added 0.8 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.9 percent. 

Markets in China, Taiwan and Vietnam were closed all week for the Lunar New Year holiday.

China’s stocks are poised to climb, as the government seeks to bolster investor confidence and adds funds to the financial system. 

Action

Many markets have broken above technical resistance. We seriously consider increasing our equity exposure once the technical over-bought condition is eased.

Commodities

Oil rose after the Federal Reserve announced it plans to keep U.S. interest rates near a record low through 2014 and a report showed durable goods orders in the world’s biggest crude-consuming country increased.

Gold traders are bullish for a fourth consecutive week, betting that the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates low until late 2014 will extend the metal’s best start to a year in more than three decades.

Action

Gold price is still in the uptrend and agriculture products’ prospects are still good.  Therefore, we shall wait for chances to accumulate these assets.

Bonds

Treasury five-year note yields fell to the lowest level ever after Federal Reserve officials unexpectedly said their benchmark interest rate will stay low until at least late 2014.  CBOE 10-Year Treasury Yield Index dropped 6.4 percent this week. 

Action

Bonds are either at very high level or subject to big default risk. Bonds are not our choice at the moment. 

Source: Bloomberg, China View, Economist, ET Net, Financial Times, Financial Express, Stockq, Yahoo 

Equities

Asian stocks rose for a fourth week, the longest such streak in a year, as lower Italian and Spanish bond yields and signs of U.S. economic recovery spurred optimism that global demand will weather Europe’s debt crisis. 

Exporters to China gained after the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing that consumer prices rose 4.1 percent in December from a year earlier, down from 4.1 percent the month before. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) gained 3.8 percent this week, snapping a nine-week drop, as China’s inflation cooled for the fifth straight month in December, giving the government more room to ease monetary policy. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 3.3 percent, rising for a second week.

U.S. stocks rose for a second week, with benchmark indexes reaching five-month highs on Jan. 12, as bets China may act to spur economic growth outweighed concern about credit-rating cuts for some European nations. 

Action

The trigger for our re-entering the market is either (1) major technical resistance being breached or (2) the market plunging to extremely low level offering attractive room for rebound.

At present, neither of the above conditions exists.

Commodities 

Gold traders are the most bullish in two months after mainland China imported the most metal ever from Hong Kong and investors bought U.S. bullion coins at the fastest pace in more than two years. 

Oil dropped the most in two weeks after a proposed European Union embargo of Iranian oil imports was said likely to be delayed for six months.

The U.S. wants to reduce Iran’s oil revenue in part by convincing countries Iran is no longer a reliable source of oil, an administration official, who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record, told reporters in Washington on 14th Jan. The official said that India and China are seeking to broaden their sources of oil beyond Iran.