Overnight

Hitting 18,162.94, the Nikkei 225 registered its highest close sine early January after edging up 0.35 overnight. It didn't hurt the Asian marmosets with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its highest close ever, continuing a streak of milestones for U.S. stock indexes.

The Wall Street Jurnal reported: Asian shares traded in positive territory Wednesday, taking a lead from record gains in the U.S. overnight that were driven by postelection exuberance. The S&P/ASX 200 was recently up 1.2% while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.6%. Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday closed above 19,000 for the first time. It ended the day 0.4% higher at 19,023.87 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3% Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite was 0.2% higher and Taiwan’s Taiex was up 0.5%.

Asian currencies, however, continue to slide, indicating that offshore funds are pulling money from the region. The Philippine peso Wednesday brushed against an eight-year low against the U.S. dollar as rising bond yields in the U.S. prompt traders to take money out of emerging markets.
“The stance of the monetary policy towards higher interest rates in the U.S. is aiding the dollar,” said Jose Vistan, head of research at AB Capital Securities in Manila. Politics is also a factor, he added.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has amped up his rhetoric against the West, raising apprehensions among investors about the inevitability of the once-solid Western ally.The dollar also gained 0.5% against the Malaysian ringgit and the Korean won in early Asian trade Wednesday.

The Trump message of increasing fiscal stimulus for many investors is contradicting those same,investors who apparently at least initially viewed the new president-elect with much more skepticism. the new apparent mood pushed commodity prices higher Wednesday. Copper and zinc were last up 0.1% each. U.S. homebuying activity rose in October for the second straight month to a new high, according to data released overnight by the National Association of Realtors. October sales of previously owned homes rose at the strongest pace since February 2007. The data have increased interest in materials and commodities stocks in Asia.

Not everyone, however, is convinced and some are expecting a pullback in this trend soon. Gold was last trading at 1217.80 up +1.70. Crude oil stayed range bound trading unchanged at $48.46 a barrel as OPEC is meeting in Vienna and questions about any future cutbacks in production linger.