The dollar came under pressure in Asia but managed to erase early losses
US stock indexes fell overnight as negotiations for a fiscal stimulus package stalled once again while coronavirus cases continued to rise both in the United States and globally. According to Johns Hopkins University, daily coronavirus cases in the country have risen by an average of 68,767 over the past seven days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 2,3% lower, the biggest one-day drop since early-September. The S&P 500 slid 1.9% and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.6%.
Soaring global coronavirus cases and slow progress on a US stimulus deal dented investor sentiment in Asia as well. On Tuesday, MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan was down 0.43%. On the data front, China’s industrial profits grew at a slower pace in September. Still, the Shanghai Composite managed to enter positive territory by the end of the session amid some signs of a recovery in risk sentiment ahead of the opening bell in Europe.
However, European equities retreated early on Tuesday despite initially edging into positive territory, as investors digested a fresh round of major corporate earnings. Tech stocks fell dramatically after Germany’s SAP warned that its business would take longer than expected to recover from the pandemic. On the positive side, HSBC beat third-quarter profit expectations.
Meanwhile, the dollar came under pressure in Asia but managed to erase early losses as risk sentiment turned sour. As a result, EURUSD was rejected from the 1.1835 intermediate resistance and derailed the 1.18 handle early in Europe. USDJPY pared earlier losses but still struggled to regain the 105.00 handle, staying within a neutral pattern at this stage.
Elsewhere, gold prices remain flat for the third day in a row on Tuesday, clinging to the 20-DMA around the $1,900 psychological level. The precious metal remains directionless amid the persisting global uncertainty and mixed signals from the global financial markets. It looks like the bullion will remain in a consolidative mode in the near term and could challenge the $1,915 intermediate resistance if the dollar comes under selling pressure.
