Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
Asian equity markets fell lower Thursday led by steep losses with mainland Chinese benchmarks. Traders are worried about the spread of the coronavirus, which is a respiratory virus as the death toll is mounting. The Disease has also spread internationally and into the United States.
Chinese residents and traders are growing more and more concerned about the new respiratory virus which has claimed more lives. The mainland Chinese equity indices were all lower by the afternoon.
The Shanghai composite was down over 1.5 percent by lunchtime. The smaller Shenzhen composite shed 1.71 percent and the Shenzhen component was down 1.86 percent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gave up 1.65 percent.
Trade data out of Japan showed that for December, exports contracted over 6.3 percent. This was more than expected. Analysts had expected a fall of 4.2 percent.
The Nikkei 225 was down 0.92 percent and in Tokyo, the Topix index gave up 0.73 percent by the afternoon.
Chinese Traders Worry about a New Global Pandemic
The coronavirus has now killed 17 people since it began, late in 2019, in Wuhan, central China. This potential pandemic is raising concerns of another Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic could happen again. SARS was back in 2002-2003. That pandemic also originated in China. It put a dent in global travel as well as slowed economic growth.
There are now more than 540 cases confirmed. Authorities in Wuhan have shut transportation networks. They are residents not to travel.
ECB Monetary Policy Decision due Later Today
The headline event on the global economic calendar is the monetary policy and rate decision from the European Central Bank.
The ECB is expected to stand firm with monetary policy and interest rates. Forex traders will monitor commentary during ECB President Christine Lagarde’s press conference. The ECB will probably note the continuing threat of a trade war between the European Union and the United States.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump said, in Davos, that he is ready to levy auto tariffs on the European Union if “they don’t make a deal that’s a fair deal.”
