by Chris Becker
It hasn’t taken long for the red button to be pushed with force by traders across the region, despite a holiday in Japan, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index gapping down 2% at the open:
This takes it straight back to the Xmas lows and threatens the December lows too. The ASX200 was recovering after an 0.5% gap down on the open, but has now sold off into the lunch break, off by more than 0.7% to just above 5600 points. The Shanghai Composite is also down nearly 1% as well.
The slew of Chinese second-tier data today could be the cause, with the Caixin PMI Index coming in way lower than expected (50.2 was consensus) at 49.7 (below 50 is considered a contraction):
But most likely its the lack of direction from overseas markets and further tight liquidity. The Aussie dollar is taking a battering, almost breaking the 70 handle:
Fun or dangerous depending on your point of view…