The safe-haven dollar extended its Friday’s recovery as risk sentiment has deteriorated
Wall Street stocks finished higher on Friday, reaching fresh all-time highs with the Dow rising 0.8%, the S&P 500 gaining 0.9%, and the Nasdaq adding 0.7%. Of note, the indexes rose despite the report showed that the U.S. economy added the fewest workers in six months in November, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 245,000 jobs last month versus a 469,000 increase expected. Weak data reinforced investor expectations of a U.S. stimulus aid package.
Today in Asia, equities were mixed-to-lower as investors proceeded to profit-taking amid rising geopolitical tensions and coronavirus cases in some regions. Investor sentiment deteriorated following the reports that the United States was preparing sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing’s disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong. As a result, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.25%, while the Shanghai Composite index sank 0.81%, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 0.76% while South Korea’s Kospi inched up 0.50%.
European equities opened mostly lower on Monday as investors continued to express a more cautious tone at the start of the week. As the risk mood looks more tepid now, the decline mirrors the slight drop in US futures, where the S&P 500 futures are down 0.2% so far. On the data front, Germany’s October industrial production came in at +3.2% versus +1.6% m/m expected.
Meanwhile, the safe-haven dollar extended its Friday’s recovery as risk sentiment has deteriorated to start the week. EURUSD is about to get back below the 1.2100 figure as traders prefer to take profit following the recent rally to long-term highs. If the pressure persists in the short term, the 1.2070 area could act as immediate support. In a wider picture, however, the pair will stay within a broader bullish trend.
