On most Asian exchanges, stock prices fell on Friday, while the value of the dollar against a basket of currencies plunged to its lowest level since 2023, and the price of gold reached its highest level in history.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific index was down about 0.5 percent at 7:00 AM. Meanwhile, the Japanese Nikkei index fell nearly 4 percent, while stock prices in South Korea and Australia slid between 0.7 and 1.2 percent. In Shanghai and Hong Kong, however, they slightly increased.
The slight, yet still growth of Chinese markets is attributed, analysts say, to stock purchases by state investment funds, which support the market in this way.
Sale of US Bonds
Investors are also focused on the sell-off of US government bonds, which has caused yields on 10-year bonds to reach 4.475 percent. This represents a weekly yield increase of 40 basis points, the highest since 2001.
Analysts say that the bond sell-off and the dollar’s decline indicate that confidence in the world’s largest economy is shaken. – There is an obvious exodus from US assets. The decline in the dollar and bond markets is never a good sign. This decline is not only a result of assessments about the slowdown in US economic growth and trade instability. There is something more – says Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com.
As a result, the value of the dollar against a basket of currencies sharply fell, especially against the Swiss franc, which is considered a safer haven for capital in uncertain times. The dollar’s exchange rate against the franc plunged this morning to its lowest level in 10 years.
The dollar index, which shows the value of the US dollar against the other six major world currencies, is around 100.10 points this morning, while it was 102.70 points at the same time yesterday.
At one point, this index dipped below 100 points for the first time since mid-2023.
Meanwhile, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Japanese currency slid from yesterday’s 146.80 to 143.25 yen.
The US currency also weakened against the euro, with the price of the euro reaching 1.1385 dollars, the highest level since February 2022, while it was 1.0985 dollars at the same time yesterday.
The drop in the dollar, along with the decline of Wall Street and US government bonds, may indicate that foreign investors are responding to Trump’s protectionist measures by selling US assets, analysts say.
Due to uncertainty in financial markets, the price of gold, which is considered a safe haven for capital, has again reached record levels. The price of an ounce jumped 1.25 percent this morning, to 3,214 dollars.
Oil prices, on the other hand, have fallen. The price of a barrel on the London market slid 0.51 percent this morning, to 63.05 dollars, while on the US market, a barrel decreased by 0.57 percent, to 59.75 dollars.
