These Charts Show How Risk Assets and Havens Traded Monday

02 Mar 2020, 04:23 PM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Swings in risk assets and havens continued in Asia trading Monday as investors mulled possible central bank intervention after the torrent of weekend news fortified concerns the coronavirus would severely damage the global economy.

Here’s a look at moves across global asset classes:

U.S. Equities

U.S. stock futures fell as much as 2% before reversing to trade higher as the Asian session progressed. E-mini contracts on the S&P 500 were on track to rise for the first time in eight sessions.

These Charts Show How Risk Assets and Havens Traded Monday

Treasuries

Treasuries continued to rally as investors increasingly bet the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to cope with the economic impact of the outbreak. The benchmark 10-year yield fell to as low as 1.04%, a fresh record low.

Yen

Risk currencies including the Aussie plummeted in early trading and the dollar fell to a new 2020 low against the yen near 107, as investors continued to pile into haven assets. The moves reversed after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda issued an emergency statement vowing to maintain market stability.

Asian Stocks

It’s been more than a month since the coronavirus hit global markets and it’s only getting worse for Asian equity investors. One by one, Asia’s markets have entered technical corrections -- first it was China, then the smaller Asean markets, then South Korea and Japan, and on Friday it was Hong Kong and Australia. Japanese shares averted a sixth day of declines as the Bank of Japan stepped in to provide liquidity.

Volatility

Front-month futures on the Cboe Volatility Index nudged above 30 for the first time since the “Volmageddon” explosion in volatility back in early 2018. The underlying gauge more than doubled last week as traders bet on more price swings to come amid the uncertainty triggered by the spreading coronavirus.

Oil

Oil futures in New York fell as much as 3.2% Monday, after last week dropping the most since December 2008, as the accelerating spread of the virus across the globe intensified demand concerns. They erased declines to snap six days of losses amid optimism of central bank rate cuts.