Forex Special - Asian stocks continue to be weighed by an overall depressed market sentiment, with weak US data and a strong Japanese yen pressuring equities lower. So far, the Nikkei is off another 90 points or 1.00% while the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite fall 0.26% and 1.03% respectively.
Yesterday’s release of disappointing US home activity brought markets to their knees once again, as concerns over the health of the recovery remain in focus. Market players will now look towards Friday’s 2nd quarter GDP numbers in hopes that they can give a hint of optimism in a generally uncertain environment.
Over Japan, the yen reached levels against the US dollar not seen in 15 years which continues to weigh heavily on exporters. The BoJ is now giving signals that intervention could be likely in the coming days. Individual firms taking the worst of it Wednesday include Canon and Elpida Memory down nearly 2.00% each, while Honda drops around 1.5%.
