Then all hell broke loose.
After equities in London and Frankfurt slid past 3%, Wall Street crashed 4.42% and Nasdaq plummeted
4.61%.
WTI crude tanked to $45 a barrel, as Brent hit $50.
US futures extended losses in the overnight trading
session. Chinese stocks slid 3.71%, Hang Seng fell 2.47%, Nikkei and Kospi dropped 3.67% and 3.30% respectively.
FTSE (-3.19%) and DAX
(-3.59%) futures hint that the race to the bottom will carry on at Friday open. The panic mode is full on.
So, the rush to safety continues
with capital feeding into US Treasury markets, the yen and the Swiss franc. But gold is left behind the safety rally, as the precious metal
slid with equities on Friday. An ounce was exchanged below $1630, certainly due to the unwound in speculative longs that have been piling up
heavily since last May.
The US 10-year yield plunged to 1.21%, a fresh all-time low, pushing the probability of a March rate cut from the
Federal Reserve (Fed) to 98%.
By Ipek Ozkardeskaya
