Asian stocks plunge for one more day as President Trump bans travel from Europe for 30 days to combat the coronavirus outbreak which threatens more disruptions to the global economy.
Unclear stimulus details from President Trump failed to calm traders as the coronavirus cases in the US are over 1,000, while in Italy there are over 10,000 cases. The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus spread is now a pandemic amid the surge in cases across the globe.
Nikkei 225 index finished 4.41% lower at 18,559. The Shanghai Composite index closed 1.44% lower at 2927. The Singapore FTSE Straits Times is 2.95% lower at 2701. Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 3.57% lower at 24333. The ASX 200 index lost 7.36% at 5304 in one of the worst falls since 2008. Now the index has lost all the gains since the beginning of 2019.
European indices tumble in the opening. The German DAX is 5.51% lower at 9,870. CAC40 index is 5.45 lower at 4,358, while the FTSE MIB in Milan is 5.20% lower at 16,991. In London, the FTSE 100 is 4.95% lower at 5,583 after yesterday the Bank of England (BOE) cut interest rates by 50 basis points.
In the commodities markets, the crude oil price resumed downtrend amid the Saudi Arabia and Russia price war. WTI crude oil is 5.09% lower at $31.30 while the Brent oil is 5.51% lower at $34.09 per barrel. The gold price trades slightly higher in the morning after yesterday’s pullback. As of writing is 0.42% higher at 1640. The gold price first resistance stands at $1,703 the recent high, while the support stands at $1,584 the recent low. Silver price is 0.25% lower at $16.69.
Cryptocurrencies started sharply lower the Asian session with major cryptos down over 8%. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is 7.53% lower at $7,335, hitting the daily low at $7,289 and the daily high at $7,977. Bitcoin’s technical outlook is clearly bearish as the cryptocurrency trades below the 100-day moving average for the fourth consecutive day. Immediate support for BTCUSD stands now at $7,289 the daily low. On the other side, the first resistance is seen at 8,000 mark and then at 9,123 Friday’s high. The next supply zone will be met at 10,495 the yearly top.
Ethereum is 12.64% lower at 166.72 with capitalization at 18.88 billion. The first resistance for Ethereum stands at $195.57, the daily high, while the first support stands at $166.12 today’s low. Ripple (XRPUSD) is 10.52 lower at 0.1865. Litecoin (LTCUSD) is 12.53% lower at 42.45. The crypto market capitalization stands now at $206.85 billion.
In the Lookout: Singapore’s Unemployment rate came in at 2.3% in line with forecasts in 4Q. The Japan Producer Price Index (MoM) came in at -0.4%, below the forecasts of -0.3% in February, the yearly reading came in at 0.8% below the consensus of 1%.
Moody’s revised down estimated economic growth in Mexico for 2020 from 1% to 0.9% due to coronavirus outbreak.
People’s Bank of China has set the Yuan (USDCNY) reference rate at 6.9461 versus yesterday’s fix at 6.9612.
Trading Perspective: In the foreign exchange markets, the Aussie dollar is 0.51 lower at 0.6450 against the greenback. The U.S. dollar index is 0.05% lower at 96.55. NZDUSD trades 0.01% higher at 0.6259.
EURUSD Under Pressure Ahead of ECB
EURUSD is 0.32% lower at 1.1234 as traders await the ECB decision later today with expectations for 0.10% interest rate cut and further quantitative easing in an attempt to offset the coronavirus impact in the economy. Confirmed cases increase in Europe with Italy in entire lockdown and the stores closed and Italian and Greek Yields continue to rise. Today reported 1075 new coronavirus cases in Iran as death toll rises to 429. The World Health Organization (WHO), declared yesterday that the coronavirus spread is now a pandemic amid the surge in cases across the globe.
On the technical side, the EURUSD trading lower for the third consecutive day as the pair corrects from the recent highs. The technical outlook is still positive as the pair holds above all major moving averages. On the downside, the first support for the pair is seen at 1.1226 the daily low. The next support level to watch on the downside stands at 1.1119 the low from March 5th.
On the upside, immediate resistance for the EURUSD pair stands at 1.1332, the daily top. More offers for the pair might be met at 1.1366, the high from yesterday’s trading session.
