Markets in the Asian domain have witnessed an intense sell-off after fetching negative cues from S&P500. A significant recovery in the risk-off market mood has forced investors to stay away from equities till the release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the outcome of mid-elections outcome.
At the press time, Japan’s Nikkei225 tumbled 1.05%, ChinaA50 dropped 0.43%, Hang Seng plummeted 1.87%, and Nifty50 surrendered 0.70%.
Massive lay-off announced at Facebook dented sentiment of market participants. This has triggered the risk of a slowdown in overall demand. Well, US equities are facing the consequences of accelerating interest rates by the Federal Reserve (Fed). Also, a majority win of Republicans would snap some command from Democratic in passing bills and laws.
The US dollar index (DXY) is hovering around the day’s low at 110.20 as investors are restricting themselves ahead of the US CPI for making informed decisions. The 10-year US Treasury yields have tumbled to 4.07% as odds are not favoring a rate hike of 50 basis points (bps) in December monetary policy by the Federal Reserve (Fed). Going forward, the extent of deviation in inflationary pressure will provide meaningful cues about the likely monetary policy action by the Fed.
Meanwhile, Nikkei225 has witnessed selling pressure despite the announcement of economic stimulus packages this week. To spurt the aggregate demand, the Japanese administration has decided to provide stimulus budgets and hike taxes for big pockets.
On the oil front, oil prices have nosedived by more than 3% after the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol slammed OPEC+’s decision to cut oil production as it might worsen the outlook for developing countries that are sliding towards recession, reported Bloomberg. He further added that the move is fueling inflation, especially in developing countries, and may require a “rethink,”