Euro wobbles in Asia

The euro wobbled around the top of its daily Ichimoku cloud on Wednesday, hurt by a lack of progress in talks over a common eurozone bond and weaker-than-expected German GDP, while the Swiss franc stayed under pressure on expectations of imminent action to curb its strength.
The euro at one point fell 0.3 percent, having failed to test major resistance at 1.4470-80, but after it bounced off its Tuesday intraday low around $1.4355 and 100-day moving average it found support as most Asian bourses eked out modest gains. France and Germany unveiled far-reaching plans on Tuesday for closer eurozone integration, including deficit limits and biannual summits and said that joint eurozone bonds may be a longer-term option.
Many experts believe the only way to ensure affordable financing for the bloc's most financially distressed countries would be for the euro area to issue joint bonds. That is why the single currency's resilience surprised some, particularly in the face of data showing growth in the eurozone's biggest economy had virtually screeched to a halt in the second quarter. The euro last traded almost unchanged from late New York levels at $1.4404.
Support for the euro - expected by some traders to edge lower in European trade - lies in the $1.4330 area. A 38.2 percent retracement of the euro's rally from last week's low to this week's high comes in right near $1.4335. Just below that, the 55-day moving average is near $1.4330.
Switzerland's government is meeting later on Wednesday to discuss the franc and some have speculated new measures could come immediately, but others think the nation's central bank may not cave in to pressure to start selling francs for euros just yet. The euro fell 0.2 percent to 1.1440 francs after scaling a two-week peak near 1.1484, while the dollar traded down 0.3 percent at 0.7940 francs, not far off a two-week high around 0.7997 set on Monday and way off its record low hit last week at 0.7067.
The relative calm in the currency market was also reflected in other asset markets as some semblance of normality returned following last week's extremely wild swings. Worries about a US recession, the eurozone's handling of its sovereign debt problems and Standard & Poor's downgrade of the United States triple-A credit rating created a crisis of confidence that swept through global financial markets.
That saw investors take cover in safe-haven assets including the Swiss franc, prompting Swiss authorities to vow to take drastic action to curb the currency's strength. The Australian dollar was last up 0.3 percent at $1.0492 and was facing major resistance at $1.0500.