 Investors expressed clear dissatisfaction with last week's US non-farm payroll report, not much due to a miss in job growth expectations, but data left the size of the upcoming Fed rate cut unsettled, raising fears that Fed's indecisive stance could worsen the already fragile economic outlook. In response, US equity markets ended the week sharply lower, with major indexes posting significant losses alongside a notable drop in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield. The risk-off sentiment also spread to other markets, including oil and cryptocurrencies. Yen was the clear winner of the week, registering broad-based gains fueled additionally by falling US and European bond yields. Meanwhile, there is increasing risk that the steep selloff in Japan's Nikkei index and Yen's rally could create a self-reinforcing cycle, with negative spillover effects for global markets. Swiss Franc also benefited from the prevailing risk-averse sentiment, finishing as the second-strongest currency of the week. Euro rounded out the top three. At the other end of the spectrum, Australian Dollar was the worst-performing currency of the week. New Zealand Dollar followed behind, with Canadian Dollar also struggling amid weakening oil prices. In the middle of the pack, Dollar and British Pound ended with mixed performance. |
