After closing at its highest point in six years at the beginning of the week, the MSCI Asia Pacific regional index is heading to close this week with a loss: at the end of the day the slide in the index, after the heavy declines on Wall Street, is 0,8% (but the Chinese market is showing slight progress). The global MSCI All Country World Index dropped 1,5% yesterday, the sharpest drop since February.
After the record, the markets were ripe for a correction, and the geopolitical problems – Gaza and Ukraine – seasoned by the controversial Argentine default provided a good excuse for a step back. Paradoxically, a clear improvement in the economic situation in America contributes to this setback (today there will be data on the labor market), which brings the moment of rate hike closer; if not guide rates, then market rates.
Today's news on the real economy is also good for China, where the official PMI index, up, confirms the progress already noted by the HSBC/Markit PMI.
In the currency field, the euro and the yen are stable against the dollar (1,339 and 102,9 respectively) while gold is still down compared to 24 hours ago ($1284/ounce) and so is oil ($98,0/b).
