Stocks in Asia were trying to stabilize after yesterday’s sell-off. Nikkei 225 lost over 3.3% as it opened after the vacation yesterday. Coronavirus fear rattled markets yesterday amid a rising number in confirmed cases in Italy.
Officials in Italy reported over 200 coronavirus cases while six people have died. South Korea reported it’s tenth death due to coronavirus. Korean officials confirmed 60 more cases, now the total cases have reached up to 893. World Health Organization (WHO) hasn’t called the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic but warned that soon might be.
The Nikkei 225 ended 3.34% lower at 22605. The Singapore FTSE Straits Times closed up 0.51% at 3158. The Shanghai Composite index closed 0.60% lower at 3013. Hank Seng in Hong Kong ended 0.27% higher at 26893. The ASX 200 benchmark in Australia ended 1.60% lower at 6866.
European stocks started slightly higher but soon turned negative. The German DAX is 0.41% lower at 12,981. CAC40 index is 0.45% lower at 5,764, while the FTSE MIB in Milan is 0.74% lower at 23,252. In London, the FTSE 100 is 0.52% lower at 7,120.
In the commodities markets, crude oil seesaws around the unchanged level. WTI crude is 0.05% lower at $51.40. Brent oil is 0.35% higher at $56.34 per barrel. Gold price retreat today from seven-year highs, as coronavirus fears ease. The gold outlook is clearly bullish as the gold price continues with higher highs and higher lows. The first resistance for gold will be met at $1,689 the daily high, while the support stands at $1,600 the recent low. Silver is 1.04% lower at $18.41.
Cryptocurrencies are trading lower for the second consecutive trading session. Bitcoin is 0.93% lower at $9,562 hitting the daily low at $9,478 and the daily high at $9,664. Bitcoin momentum is neutral, as it is testing the support at $9500. The next support for bitcoin stands now at $9,457 while the next major support stands at 9,000. On the other hand, initial resistance stands at 10,495 yearly top and then at 10,800 round mark.
Ethereum trades 2.41% lower at 259.54 with capitalization at 28.59 billion. The first resistance for ethereum stands at $274.18 recent high while the first support stands at $213.47 the February low. XRPUSD is 2.80% lower at 0.2660. Litecoin is 1.75% lower at 74.23. The crypto market capitalization is at $276.50 billion.
In the Lookout: The Japan Leading Economic Index came in at 91.6 in line with forecasts for December. The Japan Coincident Index came in at 94.1 below the forecasts of 94.7 in December. The Corporate Service Price Index (YoY) came in at 2.3%, beating estimates of 2.1% in January.
Trading Perspective: In the foreign exchange markets, the US dollar index is 0.01% higher at 99.295. The AUDUSD is 0.03 lower at 0.6600. NZDUSD trades 0.23% lower at 0.6323. The USDCHF pair is 0.07% lower at 0.9780.
GBPUSD trades 0.39% higher at 1.2979. The first support for the GBP against the USD now stands at 1.28 low which if broken, might push the pair down towards 1.25. On the upside, the first resistance for GBPUSD stands at 1.32 and then at 1.3511 recent high.
EURUSD trades 0.13% lower at 1.0838 as the pair’s technical outlook is bearish. EURUSD broke below the 100-day MA and now sellers are in control. Immediate resistance for the EURUSD pair will be met at 1.1224 the yearly high. On the flip side, the first support is at 1.0835 today’s low and then at 1.0750.
USDJPY is trading 0.27% lower at 110.39, having hit the daily low at 110.34 and the daily high at 111.03. The USDJPY pair will meet the first support at 105.43 the low from August 2019. On the upside, resistance for the USDJPY now stands at 112.18 the Friday high.
USDCAD is 0.07% higher at 1.3303 amid the weakness in the Canadian dollar due to the sharp drop in crude oil price. The USDCAD will meet first support at 1.30 the recent low while the next major support level stands at 1.29 mark. On the other side, strong resistance will be met at 1.3300.
