Asia Slips On New COVID-19 Strain Concerns, Europe Recovers As US Congress Passes Stimulus Bill

Major Asian indices are down on Tuesday and European indices are trading with caution as new COVID-19 strain concerns have led to lockdown measures and flight suspensions in many countries. In positive news for investors, the U.S. Congress has passed the $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill and funded government spending through September.

The Dow futures are down 0.15%, and the S&P 500 futures are down 0.04% on the last check Tuesday. WTI crude futures are down by 1.5% to $47.25, and gold futures are down 0.27% at $1,877.80. Ten-year Treasury yield is down by 1.6 bps to 0.925%. 

Asia: Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.04% on Tuesday to close at a three-week low. There was some profit-taking after Nikkei reached a 29-year high. The Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting is due later today.

China’s Shanghai Composite shed 1.86%. The Trump administration published a list on Monday of Chinese and Russian companies with alleged military ties that restrict them from buying a wide range of U.S. goods and technology. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.80%. Losses in technology and real-estate stocks pushed the index lower. November’s consumer price index fell 0.20% month-over-month.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shaved off 1.05% on Tuesday, down for a third consecutive session. The country's retail sales showed a surprising growth of 7% MoM. Housing and private sector credit data are due later today.

India’s Nifty 50 index is trading higher by 0.50% at press time after tanking 3.1% on Monday. Technology stocks are leading the gains.

South Korea’s KOSPI saw a 1.62% value eroded in the day.

Europe: Euro Stoxx 50 has gained 1.34% at publication time as investors cheer the U.S. stimulus bill. The bloc’s December consumer confidence index improved to minus 13.9, better-than-expectations of minus 16.8.

London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.23% on the last check as the United Kingdom battles rising COVID-19 cases due to a new virus strain. Britain’s GDP grew 16% QoQ in the third quarter but fell 8.6% YoY, beating the consensus on both counts. The third-quarter business investment grew 9.4% QoQ. The nation’s current account deficit widened to £15.7 billion, worse than the consensus of £11.6 billion deficit.

Germany’s DAX has surged 1.37%, as of press time. All sectors are trading higher, with banks and software stocks leading the gains. The nation’s consumer climate index for January dipped lower to minus 7.3.

France’s CAC 40 is up 1.36% and Spain’s IBEX 35 has gained 1.30% on the last check Tuesday.

Forex Trading: U.S. Dollar Index futures have gained 0.25% to 90.170. The dollar has strengthened against most currencies; up 0.21% against the Euro at $1.2216, up 0.18% against the Sterling Pound at $1.3438, and up 0.09% against the Japanese Yen at ¥103.39.

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