Stock markets stable in Asia, Tokyo is closed but the yen falls below $120

Wall Street's 'near records' at yesterday's close were not enough to support prices in Asia, where, however, the correction is modest (-0,4% for the MSCI Asia Pacific regional index, Tokyo is closed for holidays). The strength of the dollar pushes both the yen (to 120) and the euro (to 1,222) downwards. Gold is also affected by the good health of the greenback, and falls to 1179 $/ounce. The weakness of the dollar is also linked to that of oil: the waves of disinflation emanating from the fall in the price of crude oil make increasingly unrealistic fears of inflation that, according to gold fans, should have supported its prices after the strong expansion of liquidity by central banks. Crude oil, which dropped sharply yesterday at the end of the day, recovered slightly to 56 $/b WTI (60,5 Brent). S&P0,1 futures (+500%) were modestly positive.