Headlines:
- Dollar extends gains as risk sentiment begins to sour
- Bitcoin stays in troubled waters after break below $40,000
- Equities tumbling further on the session
- US futures turn negative on the day
- Bond yields retreat further to start the new week
- UK January flash services PMI 53.3 vs 54.0 expected
- Eurozone January flash services PMI 51.2 vs 52.2 expected
- Germany January flash manufacturing PMI 60.5 vs 57.0 expected
- France January flash services PMI 53.1 vs 55.3 expected
Markets:
- USD leads, AUD lags on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 0.4%
- US 10-year yields down 1 bps to 1.736%
- Gold up 0.3% to $1,838.99
- WTI down 0.2% to $84.95
- Bitcoin down 7.6% to $33,462
The session started off with a calmer mood but the dollar stood its ground before extending gains on the day as risk sentiment took a turn for the worse.
European stocks opened lower but the declines deepened to near 2% as equities are on the defensive once again. US futures were initially trading up, with S&P 500 futures even up by around 0.7% before tumbling and turning red now. The ugly look of the charts certainly isn't going to help the mood ahead of the cash open later.
In FX, the dollar extended gains as a result with EUR/USD falling from 1.1330 to 1.1300. GBP/USD also fell further from 1.3530 to 1.3485 as sellers build on the break below the 100-day moving average.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD pushed up by 0.3% to 1.2615 while AUD/USD has fallen by 0.7% to 0.7130 to its lowest levels this year. NZD/USD is also down 0.4% to 0.6690 - its lowest since November 2020.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin is another big story as price continues to sink with another near 8% drop today to around $33,000. Key support lies around the region of $30,000 to $32,000 so that is one to watch next.
