Singapore: With three days of Asia equity trading left for the year and low volumes across the board, traders don’t seem to be taking any chances.
About $5.6 trillion (Dh20.56 trillion) of equity value has been obliterated in the region this year as the global carnage shows no let-up. And investors are bracing for volatile days ahead.
Today is a classic example of that:
There’s a chance that 10-year US bull market comes to an end when markets reopen even after US President Donald Trump gave his first expression of public support for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell since Bloomberg News last week reported that the president had discussed dismissing the Fed chief, who was recommended by Mnuchin.
“The direly weak sentiment continues to be the engine behind the declines for markets that have yet to find the panacea in the form of any positive impetus,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist for IG Asia Pte. “The weight that is given to President Trump’s assurances is simply much lighter than the threats he is throwing.”
And news from elsewhere did little to excite investors:
What’s next? “As far as the futures are suggesting, the market is indecisive right now,” Pan said. “One should not be surprised if most are still waiting out the storm this week.”
