Australian Dollar

By Chris Becker  Risk sentiment is only positive on Wall Street due to a surge in a handful of tech stocks, as market breadth stretches out as ridiculously thin as the overall PE valuations, with the NASDAQ up through 10,000 points overnight while European bourses slipped.

It’s a flat start to the trading week as risk markets continue to absorb a lot of hesitation and concern from weekend stats showing the coronavirus isn’t slowing down as expected, with emerging markets and the failed US response creating a lot of “second wave” risk.

By Chris Becker  Risk sentiment continues to fade with another hopeful session on Wall Street dashed on Friday, selling off into the close as the risk of the “second-wave” (aka giving up on the first wave) surging throughout the US, let alone other emerging countries weighed once more.

DXY was up again Friday night and is signaling a rise in risk: The Australian dollar is starting to fall against all major DMs, more risk-off signal: It’s also falling against EMs: Gold roared back to its break out line: Oil is hanging in there.

Probable chart captions: “There is no second wave.

By Chris Becker  Risk sentiment continues to fade with a mess Wall Street session overnight, as money pressured bonds instead as US Treasury yields fell further.

More hesistation and concern feeding into risk markets today here in Asia, with the shocking unemployment print in Australia absorbed without much fuss.

By Chris Becker  Risk sentiment is fading slightly as geopolitical concerns across the Koreas and India/China border clash with the growing coronavirus outbreaks in China and the Southern/western US states.

A much more measured session across stock markets here in Asia as profit taking was the order of the day – except locally as bidders kept on bidding!

By Chris Becker  There’s a lot to digest from overnight markets including China and India border disputes, rising infection rates and case loads of COVID-19 in the US South, plus a swathe of economic data and Fed Chair Powell’s testimony to Congress.

It was “let’s forget about Monday” on Asian share markets today in response to the next layer of the Fed punchbowl and the potential for another Trump crony bailout/looting spree aka bailout package announced overnight.

By Chris Becker  The Fed rides to the rescue!

Not a good start to the week for Asian stocks with a strong selloff across the region and Wall Street ready to tumble as markets reopen tonight.

By Chris Becker  Another night of mixed sentiment to finish the trading week on Wall Street on Friday with US shares opening higher before settling with a minor bounceback, relatively speaking from their volatile previous session.

DXY was strong again Friday night: But the Australian dollar was even stronger: Gold is still poised: Oil firmed: Base metals are still mixed: Miners rebounded: EM stocks too: And junk: Bonds softened: Stocks managed a weak bounce: Despite the little comeback, I note that a new and less propitious narrative is developing.

Via Bill Evans at Westpac: The Australian dollar has been on a tear of late.

Another red day for stocks across Asia but not as bad as expected given the huge risk off mood from Wall Street overnight with a late rally in the afternoon session covering a lot of the losses.

By Chris Becker  Hilarity ensued last night on risk markets as traders finally worked out the second wave of COVID-19 in the US is coming faster than the first, as new cases and ICU bed use balloon outside of NY.