The pandemic has served to synchronize business cycles. In the first instance, it was a body blow to economies. After the first shock, it was a question of containing the outbreaks, ensuring the financial markets and bank functions have normalized to facility the economic recovery. It appears March and April were the worst and that …
Overview: After several days of aggressive risk-taking, investors are pausing ahead of the ECB meeting. Equities were mostly higher in the Asia Pacific region, though China was mixed, and Indian shares slipped. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is snapping a five-day advance, and US shares are trading with a heavier bias. The S&P 500 gapped higher …
The US and UK markets were closed on Monday. Together they accounted for almost two-thirds of the turnover in the foreign exchange market. The dollar was narrowly mixed against the majors. The dollar bloc and sterling ticked a little higher, and the euro and yen were a touch heavier. The illiquidity seemed to weigh on …
Overview: The S&P 500 staged an impressive recovery yesterday, a sell-off that took it to its lowest level since April 21, to close more than 1% higher on the day, helped set the tone in the Far East and Europe today. Gains in most Asia Pacific markets, but Hong Kong, Shanghai, and India, trimmed this …
Overview: The late sell-off in US stocks yesterday has not prevented gains in Asia and Europe. Most of the equity markets, including the re-opening of China, gain more than 1%. Australia was a notable exception, falling about 0.4%, and Taiwan was virtually flat. European bourses opened higher but made little headway before some profit-taking set …
Overview: The S&P 500 recovered yesterday after dipping trading below the 20-day moving average for the first time in a month. The key area is the gap between the April 30 low (~2892.5) and the May 1 high (~2869). Oil reversed higher as well. June crude was off nearly 9% in the US morning and closed …
Overview: The constructive mood among investors in April has given way to new concerns as May gets underway. Japan and China are still on holiday, but most of the other markets in Asia fell, led by 4.5%-5.5% declines in Hong Kong and India, and more than 2% in most other local markets. Australia bucked the trend …
The markets are an incredible aggregator of information. The corona crisis has denied grist to the mill. With so many unknowns, it is as if investors latched on to the US fiscal debate. A camel, it is said, is a horse made in committee, and so too with the laborious legislative process of the American …
Overview: In HG Wells’ “War of the Worlds,” the common cold repelled a Martian invasion. Now, a novel coronavirus is disrupting everything and everywhere. Global equities continue to get hammered, though the apparent relative resilience of Japan may have spurred some buying of Japanese equities. Both the Nikkei and Topix posted gains, while equities in the …
Overview: Dramatic price action continues but in the other direction. Stocks and bonds have rallied strongly, and the US dollar is snapping a strong advance with a sharp and broad setback. The immediate trigger is hard to identify. Some accounts linking it to fears that the California shutdown will be repeated throughout the country, deepening …