Stocks sank from Tokyo to London alongside US Futures with any positive market sentiment fading ahead of the weekend. Despite signs this week of progress in the fight against the deadly virus, investors have lost their appetite for riskier assets after a batch of poor economic data spread concerns on the severity of the impact coronavirus has had. More specifically, yesterday’s US unemployment figures combined with a disappointing EU Private Sector Activity report tempted investors to cash in any profits and limit their exposure ahead of the weekend. Market volatility is still likely to be high today as several significant data releases loom, in particular US Core Durable Goods Orders for March, which is due later today.
All EU benchmarks are trading lower with all sectors in red territory with energy and financial shares the worst performers. The SMI-20 Index from Zurich has proven more resilient than other indices so far and is still trading above 9,440pts. However, the price is testing its bullish trendline as well as the 21-day moving average having previously failed to successfully break through the resistance zone between 9,615 and 9,685pts. The bullish trend is clearly slowing down, as shown by the bearish divergence between prices and the MACD indicator and any fall below 9,440pts could open the doors to a deeper correction towards 9,180pts today.
