Wall Street stocks finished mixed overnight, as investor optimism started to wane after a decent relief-rally fueled by aggressive supportive measures announced by the US authorities. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average still ended up more than 1% and 2%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.45%, giving up earlier gains.
Initially, investors cheered the reports that the Senate appeared near a vote on a $2 trillion package but later, stocks had to trim gains amid some doubts about how quickly the bill might pass.
In Asia, equities were mostly negative, as skepticism over the efficiency of the measures in the United States started to emerge. As a result, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 4.5% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.5% while the Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.2%.
European markets opened lower on Thursday, as global market sentiment continued to deteriorate. Later in the day, EU leaders will hold a virtual summit to discuss their response to the coronavirus outbreak. The comments and statements from this front may support stocks by the end of the session.
In currencies, the greenback extends the decline against major counterparts despite risk aversion has reemerged. EURUSD surged past the 1.09 handle and is nearing the initial resistance around 1.10, where the 50-DMA lies. GBPUSD struggles around 1.1980 on the way towards the 1.20 mark. USDJPY slipped below 110.00 after several failed attempts to break above the 111.70 resistance area.
In other markets, oil prices have settled below $30, with Brent crude struggles for direction amid massive stimulus measures across the globe. On the other hand, concerns over a decline in global energy demand and rising production continue to weigh on traders’ sentiment, preventing the prices from a sustainable recovery. In the short term, Brent will likely stay under the selling pressure and may even get back below $28 should risk sentiment deteriorate further.
Meanwhile, bitcoin has settled around $6,600 after yesterday’s rejection from two-week highs just below the $7,000 handle. Despite the bearish pressure in the cryptocurrency market has eased recently, investors remain cautious and prefer to take profit on short-term rallies. On the downside, the immediate support arrives at $6,300.
