Dolar Menyentuh 3,5 Bulan Terendah Terhadap Euro

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Dolar melemah terhadap euro dan yen pada hari Kamis karena investor kehilangan kepercayaan pada kemampuan bank sentral untuk memacu pertumbuhan dan menstabilkan pasar.

Mata uang AS jatuh ke 15-bulan rendah terhadap yen, dan tiga setengah bulan terendah vs euro di awal sesi, namun memangkas penurunan setelah hari berlalu.

Indeks dolar AS ICE, indeks kekuatan dolar terhadap sekeranjang enam mata uang rivalnya, turun 0,4% dan berada di 95,4830.

Pada tahun-tahun sejak krisis keuangan hebat, investor mengharapkan terlalu banyak dari bank sentral dengan percaya kebijakan moneter yang longgar bisa memicu kenaikan berkelanjutan dalam pertumbuhan, kata Kit Juckes.(frk)

Gold Futures Spike to its Highest Level in a Year

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Gold futures jumped 4.5% on Thursday to settle at their highest level in about a year as steep losses in global stock markets helped to lift the metal's investment appeal.

April gold rose $53.20 to settle at $1,247.80 an ounce on Comex, after tapping an intraday high of $1,263.90. The settlement was the highest since Feb. 5, 2015.

Source: MarketWatch

Hong Kong Stocks Fall in Worst Start to Lunar New Year Since 94 (Rivew)

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Hong Kong stocks fell in their worst start to a lunar new year since 1994 as a global equity rout deepened amid concern over the strength of the world economy.

The Hang Seng Index slumped 3.9 percent at the close in Hong Kong as markets reopened following a three-day trading closure, during which the MSCI All-Country World Index dropped 2.1 percent. The last time the gauge fell so much on the first day of the lunar new year, investors were worried about the health of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. Lenovo Group Ltd. led declines while energy companies dropped after crude slumped 11 percent during the holidays. Jeweler Chow Sang Sang Holdings International Ltd. slid after riots in the Mong Kok district.

Hong Kong’s benchmark equity gauge tumbled 12 percent this year through Friday amid concern that capital outflows, a slumping property market and China’s economic slowdown will hurt earnings. Tuesday’s violence in the shopping district of Mong Kok threatens to deter mainland visitors and worsen a drop in retail sales, according to UOB Kay Hian (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Source: Bloomberg

Hong Kong stocks fell in their worst start to a lunar new year since 1994 as a global equity rout deepened amid concern over the strength of the world economy.

 

The Hang Seng Index slumped 3.9 percent at the close in Hong Kong as markets reopened following a three-day trading closure, during which the MSCI All-Country World Index dropped 2.1 percent. The last time the gauge fell so much on the first day of the lunar new year, investors were worried about the health of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. Lenovo Group Ltd. led declines while energy companies dropped after crude slumped 11 percent during the holidays. Jeweler Chow Sang Sang Holdings International Ltd. slid after riots in the Mong Kok district.

 

Hong Kong’s benchmark equity gauge tumbled 12 percent this year through Friday amid concern that capital outflows, a slumping property market and China’s economic slowdown will hurt earnings. Tuesday’s violence in the shopping district of Mong Kok threatens to deter mainland visitors and worsen a drop in retail sales, according to UOB Kay Hian (Hong Kong) Ltd.

 

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Slide With Global Equities as Nasdaq 100 Pares Drop

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U.S. stocks fell, with Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling more than 250 points, amid mounting concern that central-bank efforts to support growth are losing their potency.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index pared losses in the last hour-and-a-half of trading, after earlier falling as much as 2.3 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 Index erased most of its decline. Banks led the retreat, with Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. falling more than 6.5 percent. Boeing Co. tumbled 6.8 percent after people familiar with the matter said regulators are probing its accounting.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.2 percent to 1,829.06 at 4 p.m. in New York, extending declines to a fifth day, its longest losing streak since September. The benchmark fell to around the 1,810 level before rebounding. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 255.17 points, or 1.6 percent, to 15,659.57, as Boeing’s plunge knocked 54 points off the index.

Signals by central banks from Europe to Japan that additional stimulus is at the ready are failing to ease worries that global growth will keep slowing. An initial rally in U.S. stocks evaporated in the final hour of trading on Wednesday as speculation that the Federal Reserve will hold off longer on raising interest rates gave way to renewed concern over the strength of the U.S. economy. Fed Chair Janet Yellen told Congress yesterday that recent market turbulence may weigh on the outlook for the economy if it persists.

The S&P 500 is 14 percent below its all-time high set in May, near its lowest level in two years. The Nasdaq Composite Index is about 18 percent below its record set in July amid a more than 15 percent drop so far this year.

Source: Bloomberg

European Stocks Slammed to Lowest Since 2013 as Fear Selling Returns

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European stocks were sold off sharply on Thursday, tracking a wider stock-market exodus, as investors once again fretted over global economic growth and the rout in oil prices.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index slumped 3.7% to 303.58, marking its lowest close since September 2013.

Crude-oil prices slid below $27 a barrel during Thursday’s session, but had pared losses to trade down 0.9% at $27.16 at the time of the European market close.

Source: MarketWatch