Last night the Asian markets all surged sharply higher. The Japanese Nikkei 225 Index closed higher by 1.13%. The Hong Kong markets surged higher by 1.28%, as the Hang Seng Index rallied higher 292.00 points. Then the highly followed Shanghai Index, which represents the main land Chinese market, soared higher by 2.55%. The Chinese Market could be reflected today in the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index ETF(NYSE:FXI). Last, but not least the Indian stock market called the Sensex Index, rocketed higher by 473.59 points or 2.67%. When the Asian stock markets rally it is usually favorable that the leading commodity stocks will rally higher the next morning.
Traders can watch for stocks such as Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.(NYSE:CLF) to be in play this morning. This stock is a leading iron ore pellet producer and often trades higher when the Shanghai Index rallies. Southern Copper Corp.(NYSE:SCCO) is a leading copper producer in Mexico, Peru, and Chile. This stock usually catches a bid higher when the Asian markets are stronger or trading higher. Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.(NYSE:FCX) will also react positive to the strong Asian markets. Freeport McMoRan is one of the leading copper stocks in the world .
Other popular commodity stocks that may be in play today will be U.S. Steel Corp.(NYSE:X), AK Steel Holdings Corp.(NYSE:AKS), and the iPath DJ-UBS Copper Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE:JJC). Traders and investors must now watch the Asian markets closer than ever as they will have major impacts on our trading sessions in North America on a daily basis.
Nicholas Santiago
InTheMoneyStocks.com
