Yen and bond bulls charged on Monday while stocks struggled again, amid ongoing worries that a prolonged U.S.-China trade war and damaging Brexit could tip top economies into recession.
Early gains for Europe’s main bourses had quickly disappeared and Wall Street futures were already in the red after Asia-Pacific had also finished lower overnight.
That was despite a more than 1% rally for Chinese stocks after the yuan had avoided further drama and financial regulators there had relaxed margin financing rules late on Friday.
Safety remained the name of the game. FX harbour, the Japanese yen, hit its highest in nearly a year and a half at 105.32 yen against the dollar and gained against the euro and Brexit-bruised British pound too.
“Risk indicators and global markets have become more shaky and the yen is reflecting those concerns, and safe-haven shelters like the yen and the Swiss franc should continue to benefit,” said Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) currency strategist Esther Reichelt.