The Rout Continues After A Brief Reprieve
Friday’s Wall Street rebound was wiped out, and more, in early trading this morning as virus cases continue to increase and China released very weak PMI data at the weekend.
The US 30 index has hit the lowest since June last year since the open, falling for the seventh day out of eight
The next possible technical support level is the June 2019 low of 24,604
The US PMI data for February are due today and surveys suggest a slight weakening to 50.5 from 50.9 for the manufacturing sector. It’s unlikely to collapse like the China version since the impact of CoVid-19 has not been so great.
The Germany 30 index looks set to extend the recent losing streak to an eighth day today amid virus and global growth fears
The index touched the lowest since August 29 on Friday and posted the biggest weekly loss since the October 2008 crash
The final Markit manufacturing PMI readings for Germany and the Euro-zone are due today. Provisional estimates were 47.8 and 49.1, respectively.
The China 50 index slumped to the lowest level since February 4 on Friday and it would be prudent to assume it could trade weaker today after very poor PMI data was released at the weekend
The index tested below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the February 3-20 rally at 13,239 on Friday, but failed to close below it
China’s manufacturing PMI slumped to 35.7 in February, the height of the CoVid-19 outbreak, from 50.0 in January and well below forecasts of a 46.0 print. The non-manufacturing PMI fell to 29.6 from 54.1. The Caixin manufacturing version is due this morning and is likely to show the same trend.