After the initial bullish attempts, global stock markets came back under the selling pressure on Tuesday, following a decent sell-off yesterday. As such, after a positive start of the session, European shares turned red again, as the coronavirus theme prevents world markets from a sustainable recovery. The sentiment has deteriorated again, as South Korea 84 new coronavirus cases while Iran confirmed two more deaths today. The news added to concerns over the virus spreading across the globe. Against this backdrop, European indexes returned into the negative territory and remain on the defensive, losing over 15 on average, as risk-off tone prevails. Meanwhile, US futures regain ground, with Dow trading little changed following the deepest drop in two years.
As for currencies, the dollar resumed the decline against the yen and is back below the 111.00 handle as safe-haven demand supports the Japanese currency. Should the pressure persist in the near term, USDJPY could challenge the 20-DMA that comes marginally below 110.00. As long as the greenback stays under 111.00, the bearish risks prevail for the time being. On the other hand, any positive headlines related to the coronavirus may quickly send the pair north, as traders remain highly sensitive to news from this front.
As for other markets, oil prices turned red in the daily charts following some recovery attempts, as Brent is still driven by risk sentiment. The futures failed to challenge the $56.50 intermediate resistance and got below the $56 figure, losing ground for a fourth day in a row. In the short term, Brent needs to regain $56 in order to resume the ascent that was stopped by the $60 psychological level last week.
Meanwhile, bitcoin started the week on a negative note. BTCUSD declined from the levels marginally above the $10,000 handle and extended losses to the $9,500 area on Tuesday. The inability to settle back above the psychological level may point to a weaker demand for the digital currency that may see some additional losses before it resumes the ascent and refreshes highs in the medium term. Should the cryptocurrency manage to hold above $9,300 on the short term, the general picture will remain positive.
