Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei up 0.80 %, Shanghai Composite fell 4.30 %, Hang Seng rose 1.70 %, ASX gained 2.70 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1154 (+0.14 %), Silver at $14.90 (+0.80 %), WTI Oil at $38.80 (+1.65 %), Brent Oil at $43.30 (+1.80 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 2.04, UK 10 year yield at 1.86, German 10 year yield at 0.59
News & Data:
- China Conference Board Leading Index Jul: 331.2 (prev 329.6)
- PBOC Fixes Yuan Reference Rate At 6.3987 (prev 6.3862)
- Australia Conference Board Leading Index (MoM) Jun: -0.2% (prev 0.2%)
- Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index (W/e 23 Aug): 113.0 (prev 113.2)
- Fed's Lockhart: USD, yuan, oil price drop complicate economic outlook
- El-Erian: Market volatility reducing chance of September hike, December still a possibility — BTV
Markets Update:
It has been a highly volatile day in FX, especially for August, when price action tends to be rather quiet. The panic in global equity markets has spread over into FX, while liquidity was poor. EUR/USD rallied from 1.1350 to 1.17, only to drop back to 1.15 later in the day. Technical levels do not matter much in a such volatile environment, so the pair took out two key resistance levels within five minutes. USD/JPY fell to a low of 116, but bounced from there and is now back on its way to 120. Key resistance is seen at 120.40 and then 121.50.
Asian equity markets recovered somewhat, with the Nikkei, ASX and Hang Seng now all in positive territory for the day. However, sentiment remains risk averse and the worst may not be over yet for the stock market.
