Wednesday, 20 May 2020
- Asia stocks under pressure as vaccine rally falters
- Euro gains on EU recovery-fund plan
- Oil prices ease on dim economic outlook despite signs of firmer demand
Asia stocks are likely to come under pressure on Wednesday, tracking declines on Wall Street while gold prices were buoyed by safe-haven demand as economic indicators pointed to more signs of recession.
Hong Kong futures fell 0.23% and Australian shares were set to open lower, tracking U.S. market losses and as diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing rose. Nikkei futures were little-changed versus Nikkei 225 index previous close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.59%, the S&P 500 lost 1.05% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.54%.
The Indian rupee is expected to trade little changed against the dollar as U.S. stocks fell overnight following a report that deflated the early optimism on the coronavirus vaccine. The rupee will likely be quoted at around 75.64-75.68 in early trades compared with 75.64 at 2.00 p.m. yesterday,
Gold rose on Tuesday amid uncertainty over how economies would emerge from a deep slowdown, although optimism about a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus capped bullion’s advance. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,738.34 per ounce .U.S. gold futures gained 0.5% to $1,742.10
Oil prices dipped on Wednesday as concerns over the lasting economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic outweighed signs of improving demand and production cuts by major oil producers.
Brent crude futures for July delivery were trading down 11 cents, or 0.3%, at $34.54 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July were down 13 cents, or 0.4%, at $31.83 a barrel.
Source : Reuters
