A big U.S. selloff with the Dow down -365, the Nasdaq -65, and in the case of the Dow, lent fuel to the fire as it came closer to a 10% drop from its most recent high or something some refer to as "correction territory." The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have already suffered big declines that lend more uncertainty and fear to these selloffs.
In Asia things weren't any prettier for the most part as The Shanghai Composite flashed weakness most of the session bringing the index closer to bear market status or a decline of 20% from it's recent late December high. The same holds true for Japan which gave up nearly 3% bringing it dangerously close to that 20% bear market indicator investors look for. Since it's June high Japanese shares are down 18%. The Nikkei closed at 17420.95
Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea were all down. In South Korea's case it's already been a
tough week, so much so that Finance Minister Yoo ll-ho released a statement: "Exchanges rates should be left to markets, but if there are sudden changes, I feel we must react swiftly and firmly. Is this the day? No, but in general that is our stance."
The gap between the offshore and the onshore Chinese yuan also continues to concern investors. Add that to oil moving below $30 a barrel during trading and you have a gloomy mix investors will hardly like as they seek safer havens. Two safe havens likely to benefit are the yen and gold.
No comments:
Post a Comment