Asia Session – June 22, 2011 1:43 AM

Today saw a tale of two Asian sessions, with all the action taking place in the early morning and the markets reduced to a crawl once the smoke had cleared. The current Greek government, as expected, won a critical parliamentary vote of no confidence today, helping the nation take the next step to rigid austerity measures that will help secure the second phase of an EU/IMF bailout. With the vote results closer than was anticipated, the EUR/USD saw wild volatility as it popped over 1.4430 and then dropped under 1.4360 in a classic display of “buy the rumor, sell the fact” market mechanics. The single European currency remained just under the 1.4400 handle once the dust had settled from the vote and traders began to look ahead to the next big event in the FOMC statement due Wednesday morning in New York. The Euro can seemingly take a breath for now as the same majority voters that gave the current Greek government the thumbs up will most certainly be in favor of the harsh austerity measures that will face a vote in the very near future. Protesters in Athens did not seem to tarnish the Euro too much, but that can change if the intensity of those protests is ramped up and puts pressure on the Greek parliament. Full text »

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