Asia Morning September 22

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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Asia Morning: Dow Sheds 509 Points in Market Sell-off

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average once tumbled over 900 points before reducing its loss to 509 points (-1.84%) and closing at 27147. The S&P 500 sank 38 points (-1.16%) to 3281, while the Nasdaq 100 managed to close 43 points higher (+0.40%) at 10980.


Dow Jones Industrial Average: Daily Chart


Sources: GAIN Capital, TradingView


The market sell-off was triggered by growing concerns over further coronavirus-related shutdowns in Europe. And uncertainty surrounding the U.S. election added to pressure on stocks. 

Automobiles & Components (-4.81%), Capital Goods (-4.01%), Materials (-3.41%) sectors lost the most. Energy-related stocks - such as TechnipFMC (FTI -10.3%), Halliburton (HAL -8.69%) and National Oilwell Varco (NOV -7.54%) - slid along with oil prices.

General Electric (GE -7.70%), Universal Health Services (UHS -8.17%), Illumina (ILMN -8.48%) and Delta Air Lines (DAL -9.20%) were also top losers. Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL +3.03%) and Tesla (TSLA +1.64%) ended higher.  

Approximately 61.4% (52.1% in the prior session) of stocks in the S&P 500 Index were trading above their 200-day moving average and 41.0% (52.1% in the prior session) were trading above their 20-day moving average.

European stocks suffered deeper losses. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index plunged 3.24%, Germany's DAX 30 tumbled 4.37%, France's CAC 40 slid 3.74%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 3.38%.

The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield declined to 0.668% from 0.690% Friday.

Commodities prices were also impacted by souring market sentiment as well as a strengthening U.S. dollar. U.S. WTI crude oil futures (October) plummeted 4.4% to $39.31 a barrel, and spot gold slumped $42.00 (-2.2%) to $1,912 an ounce. Spot silver shed 7.7% to $24.72 an ounce.

On the forex front, the U.S. dollar rebounded against its major peers, with the ICE U.S. Dollar Index bouncing 0.6% on day to 93.55.

EUR/USD slid 0.7% to 1.1766. Later today, the eurozone's Consumer Confidence Index for September will be released (-14.6 expected).

GBP/USD lost 0.9% to 1.2819, wiping out most of the gains made last week.

USD/JPY gained 0.2% to 104.69, halting a five-day decline.

Commodity-linked currencies were broadly lower against the greenback, as risk appetite faded. AUD/USD dropped 0.9% to 0.7229 and NZD/USD plunged 1.4% to 0.6665, while USD/CAD climbed 0.8% to 1.3303.

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