European markets solid as focus turns to Fed

And in any case, the options for Japanese banks are limited – the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has already reduced its benchmark interest rate to -0.1 percent, so keeping cash in its vaults is expensive, and -0.035 percent seems like quite a good deal.

A Saudi man walks at the Tadawul Saudi Stock Exchange, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday, June 15, 2015. The market’s bumpy ride followed a slide in European stock indexes and steep losses in Japan, reflecting mounting investor anxiety that the global economy is slowing.

John Cryan, chief executive at Deutsche Bank, publicly claimed that his bank was “rock solid”, after the German lender’s share price declined by 4.27% yesterday (9 February), marking a 46% decline since the start of 2016 and a 58% slump in the past six months.

The yen’s biggest gains since December 31 have been a 14 percent appreciation versus the Mexican peso, a 10 percent advance against the South African rand and an nearly 9 percent climb versus the New Zealand dollar. Oil traded at about $30 a barrel.

“Japanese stocks are suffering from a triple punch and it’s hard to bounce back”, Tomoichiro Kubota, a senior analyst at Matsui Securities Co in Tokyo, said by phone. “If the banks don’t stabilize, we don’t. Investors must have their heads in their hands right now”. The global economy has remained weak despite several years of loose monetary policy and Japan is a prime example of that.

Monkeys threw a wrench into Asian markets in the Lunar New Year’s first week of trading, with sell-offs in Japan, Singapore and Down Under on Wednesday. Both Nikkei and TOPIX dropped more than 5 percent on Tuesday.

“The yen is rising while US Treasury yields are falling and gold prices are rising”.

“The major concern in the market is the banks”, said Sunrise’s Hsia.

SECTOR TALLY: Five of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 index moved lower, with energy and telecommunications services stocks posting the biggest decliners.

Futures augured more downside on Wall Street.

A drop in bank shares kept European shares under pressure on Tuesday, after losses in Asian markets sent investors scurrying for safe havens.

For almost 50 years, Sirhan Sirhan has been consistent: He says he doesn’t remember fatally shooting Sen. The CAC-40 in France was 2.1 percent lower at 3,981.

Such concerns have also seen one market measure of long-term euro zone inflation expectations fall to a record low.

Japanese yen strengthens by more than 1%. Investors rattled by increasing volatility across financial markets have brushed aside the easing and continued to buy yen and exit bets on currencies that offer higher yields.

But with some USA economic data weaker than expected in recent weeks, and US equities sliding during a poor corporate earnings season, recent commentary from Fed officials has suggested the central bank would not rush into further interest rate rises, leading to less support for the dollar.

About 29 percent of the outstanding debt in the Bloomberg Global Developed Sovereign Bond index was yielding less than zero as of 5pm in NY on Monday. The iTraxx Japan index jumped 8 basis points to 103 basis points as of 12.49pm in Tokyo, according to Citigroup pricing.

The benchmark was now down more than 20% from the high it hit last April. The futures contract dropped $1.75 on Tuesday.

Precious metals prices were mixed. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 1 percent to 5,690.38.