The Nikkei closes just under 23,000 but the day could have been worse
It is mostly a bad day for Asian equities as the mood is tempered by the meltdown in Chinese stocks as they return from their extended break since 24 January. That said, the selloff was not as bad as feared and that helped equities in the region to move off the lows.
The Nikkei closes down 1% but Japanese stocks have recouped some of its earlier losses already. The Hang Seng index is trading up by 0.2% currently.
The overall risk mood is a tad bit more encouraging as we look towards European morning trade, with US futures keeping higher and Treasury yields mildly higher as well. But it is all a bit-part retracement to Friday price action as cautious tones still prevail.
USD/JPY is a little higher at 108.50 while gold is down 0.6% to $1,580, but just be mindful that more negative headlines surrounding the coronavirus outbreak situation could easily turn things around in the sessions ahead.