Sense of calm returns to the market following a brutal selloff

A man wearing a protective mask, amid the COVID-19 outbreak, is reflected on an electronic board displaying stock prices outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

As investors took a breather after a violent selloff, stocks gained, and the safe-haven dollar dipped on Tuesday. Still, fears about aggressive central bank interest rate hikes and the dangers of a worldwide recession remained.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific equities excluding Japan increased by 1.3%, rebounding from a five-week low and poised for its best day in around two weeks. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index rose 2.22 percent.

Hong Kong-listed Chinese technology firms were among the leaders, up 1.9%. Gains were widespread, although Chinese technology firms were among the leaders.

With EUROSTOXX 50 futures up 0.6% and FTSE futures up 0.5%, it appeared European stocks would extend their gains from the previous session.

S&P 500 e-mini share futures were up 1.63 percent, and Nasdaq e-mini share futures were up 1.76 percent ahead of Tuesday's reopening of the U.S. markets, which were closed on Monday due to a federal holiday.

Nonetheless, some investors view the recent rally as temporary.

Kerry Craig, a global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, stated, "I think the green that we're seeing this morning is not necessarily a function that people are moving back in towards risk assets,"

Because fundamentally nothing has changed on the macro front in the past week, it is common for a very substantial selloff to be followed by some reprieve and breathing space.

Governor Philip Lowe of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) spoke about future rate hikes in a speech on Tuesday, echoing the opinion that central banks worldwide are seeking to boost interest rates to combat growing inflation aggressively.

"As we chart our way back to 2 to 3 percent inflation, Australians should be prepared for more interest rate increases," Lowe cautioned. Interest rates remain extremely low in an economy with low unemployment and high inflation.

The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia rose 1.45%, but the Aussie dollar remained relatively unchanged.

Continuing with the topic of central banks, two Federal Reserve policymakers and two Bank of England speakers are scheduled to appear later in the day, with traders intently monitoring their comments for hints about the interest rate trajectory.

In currency markets, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of its peers, declined slightly to 104.37, as the dollar lost a small amount of ground against the euro.

"However, the risk rally should prove to be short-lived as major central banks maintained their hawkish tone," said Ken Cheung, chief Asian FX strategist at Mizuho.

At 135.1 yen per dollar, the Japanese yen continued under pressure, not far from a 24-year low of 135.58 yen reached early last week.

On bond markets, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes yield was 3.2825 percent, up from 3.2313 percent on the previous Friday's close.

Last week, the 10-year yield's record of 3.495 percent was the highest since 2011 and coincided with the Fed's big 75-basis-point rate hike.

Oil prices increased as traders prioritized dwindling supply over sluggish global economic development. Brent crude increased 1.17 percent to $115.47 per barrel, while U.S. crude increased 1.79 percent to $111.52 per barrel.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Monday that the United States is in discussions with Canada and other global allies to further restrict Moscow's energy revenue by setting a price restriction on Russian oil without affecting low-income countries.

The spot price of gold was practically unchanged at $1,838.41 per ounce.

Bitcoin was trading around $20,629, unable to decisively breach above or below the psychologically critical $20,000 barrier recently.

Publish : 2022-06-21 13:56:00

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