A volatile day for local stocks while other Asian bourses were very unsteady following the broad gains on Wall Street overnight. We’re still in bear market territory, so oscillations of this kind are not to be unexpected. USD firmed against Yen but both Kiwi and Aussie remain resilient while gold slipped a little in late
By Chris Becker Overnight risk markets took the stimulus ball and ran with it, ignoring the growing COVID-19 virus caseload and deaths, particularly in the heart of the global economic machine, the USA. Quarter and month end rebalancing may also be playing a part, but it seems like another short covering bounce as the economic
Outside local stocks its been another rough start to the trading week throughout Asia for risk markets, but US futures are pushing higher as the risk complex again reweights the growing pile of virus victims versus the verisimilitude of a v-shaped recovery! USD is holding its ground against the major currency pairs, although gold has
By Chris Becker It’s crunch time for stock markets around the world this week as its plain to see that the combined efforts of central banks and fiscal stimulus has had almost no impact on the reality that is a major recession forthcoming in 2020. As the US leads the world in its criminally negligent
Outside local stocks its been a solid session throughout Asia for risk markets, but US futures are pulling back as all eyes are on the US Congress passing the stimulus bill. USD is losing ground against the major currency pairs, although gold remains steady, the Aussie dollar is now above 61 cents. The Shanghai Composite
By Chris Becker Stimulus packages are pumping air into the carcass that is the dead cat like a bagpipe, with Wall Street rallying on hopes that the cheques from Congress will save the next quarterly earnings bell. The fact that initial jobless claims came in at over 3 million was swept under the rug, as
A very mixed day here in Asia with most stock markets in retreat mode after what was a stellar start to the Trading Week. The US Congress is set to pass the Senate’s stimulus package on Friday, as traders and indeed everyone watches the growing death toll and case load of COVID-19 let loose in
By Chris Becker The dead cat is now in hover mode as Wall Street was unable to translate epic gains in Asia then Europe into anything substantial, with the NASDAQ actually retreating slightly despite the substantial stimulus packaged passed by Congress. While the USD retreated slightly against the majors, gold suffered a small pullback after
A sea of green across Asian stock markets today following the surge on Wall Street last night as markets mistake the absence of selling as the absence of a bear market. Gold remained above the $1600USD per ounce level while other undollar currencies advanced against USD as Congress finally passed a fiscal rescue package. The
By Chris Becker The dead cat twitched on its terminal bounce and markets are now mistaking it for signs of life as Congress finally agrees on a significant fiscal spending bill. Wall Street soared 10% higher with the USD falling slightly, alongside Treasuries while commodities were relatively unchanged, except for gold which soared another 5%
Everything is awesome as the whole of Asia buys buys buys! Or is it just short covering before another leg down as the US remains in deadlock, both leadership wise and fiscal stimulus, as Congress remains stalled. Gold continued its good run to put in a new weekly high while other Asian nations announce more
By Chris Becker Last night saw the Federal Reserve take the QE infinity sword out of the sheath, but it was like limp lettuce to risk markets with only a slight fall in USD as bond yields continued to fall to record lows. Wall Street was down 5% at one point as Congress (remember its
Groundhog day yet everyone? The ASX200 gapped over 8% lower on the open while other Asian indices oscillated wildly as the uncoordinated fiscal and monetary response to the coronavirus pandemic over the weekend has caused risk markets to have yet another epic day of volatility. Funnily enough the only sanity out there is currencies, with
By Chris Becker Not a good time to try to time your way around these markets with Wall Street slumping again out of the blue on Friday night. Despite the record and widespread adoption of both fiscal and monetary stimulus packages around the world, equity markets are still pricing in severe recessions for the rest
Finally, some steady gains across the region, following the lead from overnight stock markets. The USD reversed course as a series of events including a big jump in projected US unemployment and proposed lockdowns in California. The RBA started their QE program today while the PBOC continues to weaken the Yuan, although offshore trading slumped
By Chris Becker Some calm returned to risk markets overnight, but its all relative, with oil shooting 20% higher on shutdown rumors from an already overly depressed level. Stocks did well in Europe and stumbled a little higher on Wall Street while in currency world, its still all about the King, as gold slumped to
Another sea of red across Asian stock markets today as the crash continues, with local stocks leading the way despite a big cut to interest rates locally by the RBA and a near twenty year low for the Australian dollar. Japanese stocks are off as well despite the BOJ stepping in and buying up big,
By Chris Becker Insert fear/panic quote here. The only thing you can predict about markets at the moment is that they’re unpredictable with yet another night of big falls on Wall Street, as the risk complex teeters once more. Today in Asia is going to be hectic plus the added bonus of seeing what the
Another day of stupidity on local stocks, with the ASX200 selling off because ScoMo had some choice words for the unwashed hoarders, while other stock markets lifted across the region. Nevertheless, US futures are down going into the European open with the USD retreating against the majors, except gold which is looking wobbly after several
By Chris Becker It’s all about the stimulus with stock markets lifting overnight in the wake of combined fiscal packages from various governments to offset the economic cost of the coronavirus impact. Wall Street lifted the strongest, up nearly 6% across the board but commodities continued lower, dragging the Aussie dollar with them to a
Another volatile day on Asian stock markets, this time to the upside for most outside China, as a modicum of stability returns to risk markets following the epic falls on Wall Street overnight. A battle over the direction of gold saw it eventually fall back below the $1500USD per ounce level late in the trade
By Chris Becker Panic and fear are ruling markets, with stock markets likely to see restrictions in trading soon if this epic volatility continues. Wall Street suffered its worst falls since Black Monday 1987, with the Dow off nearly 13% in a single session. What makes this unique (the panic selling is perfectly normal human
Here we go again. Local stocks lead the reaction to the Fed’s cut to zero and new round of QE, with all other central banks now acting in kind with the BOJ today accelerating its bond buying program and the RBA finally admitting it needs to do the same. The ASX200 suffered its worst one
By Chris Becker Friday night saw volatility violently veer the other way with big surges on stocks and selloffs in safe havens like gold, Treasuries and Yen. Oh and Bitcoin which crashed down to $4000 before rebounding 50% (not a typo) to almost $6000! Stimulus was the reason as central banks decided to let the
It’s still ugly out there with Asian equities falling sharply but not as fast as Wall Street overnight, but all stock indices are now in bear market territory for the year. Currencies are mixed with a small bounce in undollars, with the Aussie lifting off the floor but only just, while gold falling another $15
By Chris Becker Panic has set in on risk markets around the world with shares suffering their worst one day loss since 1987 as Wall Street plummets 10% in a single session. Everything was sold off as money managers literally just wanted money in their accounts and nothing else. The scheduled ECB meeting resulted in
It’s getting ugly out there with the ASX200 having its worst day since 2008, falling nearly 8%, while other Asian equities are off by about half that as Trump enacts a European travel ban. Currencies are mixed with the Aussie, Kiwi and Loonie falling sharply alongside commodities while Yen is being bid strongly for a
By Chris Becker Fear is back as another packed night of volatility where the WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic, Wall Street lost its shi(r)t, while bond markets went haywire and actually sold off with a big jump in still-depressed yields. The 10 year US Treasury yield went from 0.65% to 0.85% while currency markets
Well that was a short lived bounce, as risk assets fall across the region despite more fiscal and monetary stimulus nods and suggestions overnight. US cases of coronavirus have now spiked over 1000, although good news in South Korea and elsewhere about declines in new cases will be overshadowed as the Americans start to panic.
By Chris Becker Fears are fettered with fiscal fiddling overnight with the rebound in Asia extending into the US session, although European bourses remain extremely nervous and put in scratch sessions. The USD bounced back as well with safe haven selling the order of the day, given some respite to risk assets with bond yields
