Overview: Equities continue to recover even as deep economic contractions are reported. Yesterday, the US said Q1 GDP contracted at an annualized pace of 4.8%, while the eurozone reported today that output fell 3.8% quarter-over-quarter in Q1. Hong Kong and South Korea were closed, but the rest of the Asia Pacific bourses rallied strongly with several, …
Overview: Asia Pacific equities mostly declined in sympathy with yesterday’s large sell-off in the US and Europe. China and Taiwan were the notable exceptions, while Australia’s 2.2% decline, following the central bank meeting that resulted in what many are seeing as a hawkish hold, led the move lower. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 fell 1.6% yesterday, …
US Brandishes Tariff Weapon and Weakens Animal Spirits Read More »
Overview: Investor optimism is reflected by the risk-taking appetite that is lifting equity markets and bond yields. With Japanese markets closed for a national holiday, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index was led higher by more than 1% gains in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand. The regional benchmark advanced for the seventh session in the …
The force that had pushed the US 10-year Treasury yield to 3% and the dollar above JPY113 at the start of the month, and the euro to $1.13 a couple of weeks ago has dissipated. The 10-year yield is near 2.80%. The dollar was near two-month lows against the yen a week ago, and the …