OVERNIGHT MARKETS ROUND UP – 27/03/14

Asian markets after initially falling early on in the session held ground and rallied late in the day, with the yen falling back. Last night US equity markets erased early gains and ended the day almost 0.5 percent lower. And although the financial press went with Ukraine fears, I’d offer up a rebalancing of risk ahead of quarter end instead. Indeed, if the market’s eye had been on Ukraine and had been concerned, the Dax should have underperformed much more than it did given recent correlations on that sort of news. Moreover, the profit taking from last night most affected the momentum names that have been winning most fiercely in recent memory – the Nasdaq 100’s losses making the point well. When the market gets tired and unwinds, prices fall. There doesn’t necessarily need to be a headline-grabbing narrative. 

European equities are set to open softer this morning, down some 0.4 percent on average, though off their lows overnight. Investors will later turn to jobless claims and pending home sales from the States.