Sunday 5 January 2020

Yen Matches Three-Month High After Mideast Stocks Get a Mauling - Bloomberg

Yen Matches Three-Month High After Mideast Stocks Get a Mauling - Bloomberg:

The yen held near its strongest level against the dollar in almost three months amid demand for haven assets after the U.S. killing of Iran’s most senior military commander sent Middle Eastern stocks into retreat, setting the tone for what’s likely to be a volatile week.

Japan’s currency appreciated for a third-straight day as markets opened in Sydney, while the Australian dollar weakened.

 All the Middle East’s major equity gauges fell Sunday. Kuwait’s dropped more than 4%, trimming a rally that made it the best market in the region last year. Saudi Aramco slumped as the country’s Tadawul All Share Index lost as much 2.5%. Egypt’s EGX30 gauge fell 4.4%, the most since September, and stocks in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Israel and Oman also weakened.


Geopolitical risks flared after Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was killed in Iraq last week in a drone attack ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani vowed revenge, while Trump said late Saturday the U.S. had identified 52 Iranian sites that would be hit “very hard” if Tehran retaliated. Iran also said it would no longer abide by any limits on its enrichment of uranium, while Iraq’s parliament voted to expel U.S. troops from the country.

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