Asian stocks finished lower for one more session as the uncertainty around the coronavirus crisis weighs on investors’ sentiment.
New confirmed cases continued to rise in South Korea, and now more than 1,100 cases have been confirmed with at least 11 deaths. The coronavirus outbreak rattled risky assets this week as the infection zone is expanding around the world. World Health Organization (WHO) in a press conference hasn’t called the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
The Nikkei 225 ended 0.79% lower at 22426. The Shanghai Composite index closed 0.83% lower at 2987. The Singapore FTSE Straits Times closed down 1.03% at 3124. Hank Seng in Hong Kong ended 0.80% lower at 26670. The ASX 200 benchmark was lower for the fourth trading session in a row, giving up 2.30% lower at 6708.
European stocks started sharply lower the session mirroring Wall Street’s heavy losses. The German DAX is 2.89% lower at 12,420. CAC40 index is 2.39% lower at 5,544, while the FTSE MIB in Milan is 1.53% lower at 22,714. In London, the FTSE 100 is 1.87% lower at 6,887.
In the commodities markets, crude oil is another victim of the coronavirus crisis. WTI crude is 0.50% lower at $49.59. Brent oil is 0.65% lower at $54.58 per barrel. The gold price rebound today after yesterday’s pullback, the precious metal is 0.65% higher at 1645. 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 price is 0.54% higher at $18.07.
Cryptocurrencies correction continues for the third consecutive trading session. Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is 1.63% lower at $9,149 hitting the daily low at $9,075 and the daily high at $9,415.
Bitcoin’s momentum is negative now as the number one cryptocurrency has lower highs and lower lows. The next support for Bitcoin stands now at $9,092 the daily low while the next major support stands at 9,000. On the other hand, initial resistance stands at 9369 the daily high and then at 10,495 the yearly top.
Ethereum trades 4.02% lower at 236.57 with capitalization at 26.13 billion. The first resistance for ethereum stands at $274.18 recent high while the first support stands at $213.47 the February low. Ripple (XRPUSD) is 5.19% lower at 0.2393. Litecoin (LTCUSD) is 6.55% lower at 66.14. The crypto market capitalization is at $260.49 billion.
In the Lookout: The France Consumer Confidence came in at 104 beating expectations of 103 in February.
The Singapore Industrial Production came in at 18.2% above forecasts of 0.6% in January.
The Central Bank of China set the Yuan reference rate at 7.0126 versus Tuesday’s fix at 7.0232.
Trading Perspective: In the foreign exchange markets, the US dollar index is 0.03% lower at 98.97. The AUDUSD is 0.38 lower at 0.6577 at 11-year lows. NZDUSD trades 0.05% lower at 0.6313. The USDCHF pair is 0.25% lower at 0.9735.
GBPUSD trades 0.33% lower at 1.2961. 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 0.09% higher at 1.0891 as the pair’s technical outlook is neutral for now. 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 1.0862 today’s low and then at 1.0750.
USDJPY is trading 0.01% higher at 110.20, having hit the daily low at 110.12 and the daily high at 110.57. The USDJPY pair will meet the first support at 105.43 the low from August 2019. On the upside, resistance for the USDJPY pair now stands at 112.18 the Friday high.
USDCAD is 0.18% higher at 1.3300 as the weakness in the Canadian dollar due to the sharp drop in crude oil price continues. 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.
