Headlines:
- Dollar, yen firms as risk aversion starts to kick in
- Surging Treasury yields a key focus as the week ramps up
- US futures sink lower as tech remains a drag
- It is make or break time for oil
- Germany January ZEW survey current conditions -10.2 vs -7.5 expected
- UK December jobless claims change -43.3k vs -49.8k prior
- Switzerland December producer and import prices -0.1% vs +0.5% m/m prior
- PBOC deputy governor says will keep yuan exchange rate basically stable
- BOJ's Kuroda: Price rises are based on temporary factors
Markets:
- CAD leads, GBP, AUD and NZD lag on the day
- European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 1.0%
- US 10-year yields up 4.6 bps to 1.818%
- Gold down 0.3% to $1,813.00
- WTI up 1.2% to $84.80
- Bitcoin flat at $41,755
It was a lively handover from Asia to Europe as surging Treasury yields is the key theme to take note of in trading today.
2-year and 10-year Treasury yields are moving back to pre-pandemic levels, with the former above 1% and the latter holding around 1.82% to 1.84% mostly on the session.
That kept risk trades a little more cautious early on before the risk aversion ramped up as equities tumbled further. Tech stocks were the ones beaten up the most, with Nasdaq futures dropping by as low as 2% during the session - now down 1.6%. That helped to drag European indices lower, with losses around 1% currently.
In turn, that helped to pressure the aussie and kiwi lower with AUD/USD seen down around 0.7180-90 levels and NZD/USD down around 0.6760-70 levels. USD/JPY also moved down from 114.80 to 114.50 as a result of the risk retreat.
Meanwhile, the dollar firmed with EUR/USD falling from 1.1400 to 1.1382 and GBP/USD declining from 1.3650 to 1.3590 as price breaks below its 200-hour moving average of 1.3630 on the day.
The loonie is a standout performer though, as it helped by higher oil prices with USD/CAD knocking on 1.2500 and its 200-day moving average at 1.2498 once again.
WTI crude briefly traded to its highest since 2014, moving up by over 2% to $85.70 but is now down slightly to near $85.
