US equities delivered another strong session, with the rising 0.5% to close at a fresh record of 6,227. Small‑caps led the charge, as the jumped 1.31%, clearing its 200-day moving average for a second straight day, evidence that the post “Liberation Day” rebound has broadened beyond mega‑cap tech.
Asia Pacific Stock Markets Falter on Slowing China Services PMI and Trade Tensions
In contrast, Asian shares weakened intraday. Hong Kong’s fell 1%, while the Index plunged 1.4% after China’s dropped to a nine-month low of 50.6 (May: 51.1; consensus: 51.0).
Meanwhile, President Trump’s announcement of a US‑Vietnam trade deal, including a 40% levy on goods transshipped via Vietnam—threatens to draw China into a new round of tit‑for‑tat tariffs, potentially weighing further on regional equities.
GBP Under Pressure on UK Fiscal Uncertainty
Aussie Dollar Underperforms
Gold consolidates ahead of key US Data
Economic Data Releases
AUD/USD at risk of minor setback before new bullish leg
The recent 3.4% rally seen on the AUD/USD from the 23 June 2025 swing low of 0.6373 is coming close to an inflection level of 0.6600, where it faces the risk of a minor corrective setback before a new bullish up move sequence materialises.In addition, the hourly RSI momentum oscillator remains capped by a parallel descending resistance at around the 63 level since Wednesday, 2 July, US session, which suggests a lack of bullish momentum.
Watch the 0.6600 key short-term pivotal resistance on the AUD/USD with the next intermediate supports coming in at 0.6530 and 0.6510 (also the 20-day moving average and the pull-back of the former 8-week range resistance) (see Fig 2).On the other hand, a clearance above 0.6600 invalidates the corrective setback scenario for the continuation of the bullish impulsive movement to expose the intermediate resistances at 0.6630/6645 and 0.6690.