Australian Dollar

Its a very solid start to the trading week here in Asia with all stock markets rising following the strong lead from Wall Street on Friday night.

It was the absolute whipping boy of the crisis.

By Chris Becker  Sentiment swung wildly on Friday night particularly later in the session as Wall Street rallied, leaving Europe behind as more economic lockdown easings were announced across the globe.

Via the FT: A closely watched gauge of stress in the eurozone’s financial system has climbed to its highest level since 2012, a sign that the coronavirus crisis has pushed up borrowing costs for banks in the currency bloc.

By Chris Becker  Stock markets were unable to translate gains in Asia to anything substantial in the northern hemisphere overnight as caution reigned with disappointing news regarding an antiviral drug plus a big spike in initial jobless gains keep sentiment tempered.

Following the bounceback on Wall Street overnight, risk markets in Asia are in the main putting runs on the board with another surge in undollar assets going into the London open, with commodity currencies in particularly lifting significantly.

Risk markets in Asia are fighting back late in the session after a mixed start this morning after a solid selloff on Wall Street overnight.

By Chris Becker  Market reaction was again dominated by breakdown in the oil price complex as June WTI crude futures fell nearly 70% while Brent was down 30%, both at near 20 year lows.

DXY is strong again: The Australian dollar was universally dumped: Gold got hammered but they bought the dip: As Brent got sucked into the WTI vortex: Dirt gave up: Miners were crushed: And EM stocks: US junk gave way despite the Fed.

Two factors are combining to make stock markets nervous in today’s session here in Asia with news regarding the ill health of Kim Jong Un and the chaotic nature of oil prices.

By Chris Becker  Market reaction was dominated by the oil price fallout in the US as the WTI futures contract went negative as it became a victim of its own supply.

DXY firmed overnight as oil chaos engulfed markets: The Australian dollar rolled versus DMs: But EMs cratered: Gold bounced off its breakout line: Oil melted down: Dirt mostly rolled as well: And miners: Plus EM stocks: Importantly, junk fell.

A very mixed start to the trading week here in Asia with local stocks slumping and Japanese markets tripping over as coronavirus jitters continue to plague (sic) the region.

By Chris Becker  Green across the board on stock markets on Friday with traders discounting the future by looking at current COVID-19 results as governments around the world itch to get back to “business as usual”.

DXY was down Friday night: The Australian dollar was up against all comers: Gold puked: WTI is freefalling as Brent holds.

Risk markets are all beside themselves as Trump pushes his “open America to a 2nd wave of coronavirus” agenda this morning, pushing the risk complex ever higher as it prices in the soon-to-be economic upside while forgetting any problems in the long run.

DXY was up last night: The Australian dollar paused: Gold eased: Oil is still falling: And dirt: Miners firmed: EM stocks were flat: But junk took off: Bonds were bid: Stocks were firm.

A solid down day here in Asia for stock markets in response to the falls on Wall Street and in Europe overnight as risk aversion starts to creep in.

By Chris Becker  Before the European session yesterday, a wave of fear gripped markets as the IMF forecasts and then later, US economic data pointed to a bigger contraction than expected due to the coronavirus.