Worries on global slowdown dominates the markets today. It started with weaker than expected Chinese data which prompted selloff in Asian stocks. Poor Eurozone PMI composite, which dropped to 49-month low, could have intensified selling. But sentiments somewhat stabilized slightly after China announced to suspend retaliatory tariffs on US autos and parts for three months. Still, European indices are in deep red.
In the currency markets, New Zealand and Australian Dollar are the weakest ones for today, breaking yesterday’s lows against most other major currencies. Sterling is the third weakest after UK Prime Minister Theresa May got nothing but vague assurances from the EU regarding Irish backstop. Yen and Dollar are the strongest ones.
For the week, Dollar is the strongest, followed by Canadian and Aussie. Sterling remains the weakest on Brexit, followed by Kiwi and then Euro.
In European markets, at the time of writing:
- FTSE is down -0.78%
- DAX down -1.02%
- CAC down -0.99%
- German 10 year yield is down -0.0248 at 0.261
- Italian 10 year yield is up 0.007 at 2.975
- German-Italian spread is at 271, positive development
Earlier in Asia:
- Nikkei dropped -2.02% to 21374.83
- Hong Kong HSI dropped -1.62% to 429.56
- China Shanghai SSE dropped -1.53% to 2593.74
- Singapore Strait Times dropped -1.09% to 3077.09
Japan 10 year JGB yield dropped -0.019 to 0.035. It’s a bit early to tell. But based on current momentum 2018 low at 0.017 is within reach. Sentiments had a big turn since October.
