A softer day for Asian equities
Asian stocks are on the retreat in trading today as investors continue to weigh up the virus situation globally as well as the stalemate between US lawmakers on a stimulus deal, alongside the more exuberant mood in Wall Street overnight.
The better mood from US equities isn’t quite translating over with the Hang Seng seen down 1.6% while the Shanghai Composite is also down by 0.8% currently.
That said, the mood in US futures are more calm with S&P 500 futures up ~0.1% but off earlier highs in Asia Pacific trading. All eyes will be on Congress and whether or not they can reach a stimulus deal ahead of the weekend, though optimism is slowly fading.
In the currencies space, the dollar is still keeping a little weaker with EUR/USD up to 1.1885 though keeping in a narrower range for the day – only 23 pips up to 1.1900, extending gains following the BOE decision.
USD/JPY is also lower, down to 105.45 but is settling in a 23 pips range in trading thus far.