Markets cop another belting

March 12, 2020

Another day of turmoil as stocks dipped into bear-market territory.

The EURUSD looked set for a positive session but ended the day weaker. The pair opened at $1.12792 and rallied early, peaking at $1.13665 mid-session. It started giving up those gains shortly afterwards, with the euro hitting lows of $1.12485. It has come off those lows and is not trading at $1.12697. On the back of an emergency interest rate meeting and the annual UK budget, the GBPUSD continued its trend down. The pair opened at $1.29086 and climbed to highs of $1.29759 midway through the day. The gains were given up late in the day as the pound fell to lows of $1.28046. It is off those lows and now trading at $1.28433.

The Dow copped an absolute pasting overnight after opening at a high of 24,915.60. It was all down hill from there as the index stripped as much as 1,600 points off in value, hitting lows of 23,313.48 and at the same time, entering bear-market territory as it is now 20% off its highs recorded earlier in the year. It eventually closed at 23,592.99. The situation is more dire for the Dow in early trading on Thursday, with the index plummeting to 22,923.00. The Dax succumbed to the downward pressure placed on it by the Dow when it opened at 10,705.21. The German index ticked up to a high of 10,755.14 mid-session before the losses started to pile up. The Dax fell to lows of 10,208.38 late before closing at 10,296.24. the Dax has followed the Dow’s lead in early trading on Thursday and is now trading at 9,922.21.

The day ahead seems to be shaping up as a woeful one for markets with most people sitting back to see stocks fall further or if something can stem the tide. Aside from the carnage, the ECB meets later tonight to discuss interest rates. Interest rates are tipped to remain on hold at 0%, but with this rapidly deteriorating market, things can change quickly. Other monetary measures may be deployed by the ECB to provide support for a market that seems in free-fall at times.

 

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