On Friday, US stock markets saw their worst finish since the 2007 financial crisis. The Standard & Poor’s 500 declined 15% over the week and could extend the decline as a fiscal stimulus bill failed a key procedural Senate vote Sunday. In Asia, stocks were mostly lower on Monday, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across the world. According to data from the World Health Organization, the number of infected now is nearing 300,000 and around 13,000 lives taken. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index fell 5.73% today.
In Europe, the major indexes also took a hit, after the U.S. Senate failed to advance a bill to provide some fresh stimulus the economy amid the ongoing virus outbreak. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down nearly 5% at the start of the week. It is reported that Germany may authorize more than 350 billion euros in new debt while the U.K. late on Friday rolled out a program that would guarantee most of the pay of workers kept on the payroll.
Elsewhere, in its monthly report, the German Bundesbank acknowledged that a deep recession in Germany is inevitable amid the coronavirus outbreak. At the same time, the bank noted that German public finances were well-positioned to handle this situation. The economic recovery will only start when the pandemic risk is effectively contained, the bank noted. According to the latest reports, the German government has signed off on a €750-billion economic package to combat the virus fallout.
In currency markets, dollar demand reemerged after a mild correction at the start of the day. After failed attempts to cling to the levels above 1.0750, EURUSD slipped back below 1.07. GBPUSD turned negative in the daily charts and is now threatening the 1.15 figure again. Earlier, the pair briefly exceeded the 1.17 level. USDJPY meanwhile has recouped earlier losses but still lacks the momentum to regain the 111.00 handle as market sentiment remains cautious.
In other markets, bitcoin is back under the selling pressure after yesterday’s decline, threatening the $5,800 handle. Once below, the leading cryptocurrency will target the $5,200 region. The outlook in the weekly timeframes remains gloomy. On the upside, BTCUSD needs to regain the $6,300 area to confirm a local bottom.
