Asian stock markets dive, U.S. dollar rally gathers steam

Lola Evans
09 May 2022, 16:54 GMT+10

Stocks in Asia were under water Monday with major falls being recorded across the board.
Major currencies too were taking a bath as demand for the U.S. dollar accelerated.
"We look for ongoing demand for DXY on dips, with 104 already being probed and still potential for a run towards 107 multi-week."

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia were under water Monday with major falls being recorded across the board as inflation fears stoked sentiment, while prospects of further lockdowns loomed in China, pressuring economic growth forecasts.

Major currencies too were taking a bath as demand for the U.S. dollar accelerated. "Risk appetite is fragile and yield spreads continue to suggest further upside on the Dollar Index," Sean Callow, a senior FX strategist at Westpac told Reuters Monday.

"We look for ongoing demand for DXY on dips, with 104 already being probed and still potential for a run towards 107 multi-week."

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dived 684.22 points or 2.53 percent to 26,319.34.

Australia's All Ordinaries index crumbled 109.70 points or 1.47 percent to 7,357.90.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 fell 227.68 points or 1.96 percent to 11,381.70.

South Korea's Kospi Composite lost 65.92 points or 2.46 percent to 2,611.15.

The Hong Kong stock market was closed for a public holiday. China's Shanghai Composite, going against the trend, inched up 2.58 points or 0.09 percent to 3,004.14.

The euro was well out of favour approaching the Sydney close Monday, trading at 1.0504. The British pound dived to 1.2269. The Japanese yen was sharply weaker at 131.18. The Swiss franc was unwanted at 0.9934.

The Canadian dollar weakened to 1.2944. The Australian dollar tumbled to 0.7002. The New Zealand dollar weakened markedly to 0.6346.

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