The sea of red across Asian stock markets continues to deepen as the combined fallout from the Afghanistan collapse and increased concerns about COVID-19 in the US weigh on risk takers everywhere. The USD is firming against most of the currency majors except gold which is closing in on the $1800USD per ounce level as safe haven buying accelerates:
The Shanghai Composite is one of the biggest losers today, down nearly 2% going into the close at 3453 points while the Hang Seng Index is close behind, down 1.8% at 25695 points. The USDJPY pair is still hovering at a near two week low at just above the 109 handle while Japanese stocks are also in retreat as the Nikkei 225 falls nearly 0.4% to close at 27424 points, almost matching its previous daily and weekly lows:
Australian stocks are middle of the pack, with the ASX200 falling nearly 1% to finish at 7511 points as the Australian dollar falls completely out of bed breaking back to the 73 handle for a new weekly low:
Eurostoxx and S&P futures are slowly fading again going into the London open, but can the BTFD Crowd fill in again? The four hourly chart of the S&P500 shows price retracing from its overnight record highs as momentum reverts yet again from the extreme overbought stage:
The economic calendar ramps up with UK unemployment, Euro wide GDP Q2 prints plus US retail sales for July.