10 Things You Need To Know Today

thenews 2013.05.31 10:00

Here's what you need to know.

Markets in Asia were mixed in overnight trading. The Japanese Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng fell 0.4%, and the Shanghai Composite declined 0.7%. European markets are in the red across the board, led by Italy, currently down 1.0%. In the United States, futures point to a negative open.
Despite the gains in the the Nikkei during Friday's trading session in Japan, the index has taken a sharp turn lower in after-hours futures trading and is already down 1.8% from Friday's close. The Japanese stock market has had an extremely volatile last few trading sessions after the Nikkei posted a shock 7.3% single-day decline last Wednesday.
The sharp decline in the South African rand against the U.S. dollar continues today as part of a broader sell-off in emerging market currencies. The exchange rate is currently 10.13 rand per dollar, up 1% from yesterday. Worries over a tapering of monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve are slowing inflows into emerging markets, causing currencies and asset values to decline. The rand is one of the biggest losers because its moves against the dollar are more accentuated than those of others – in part because the currency is more easily "bullied" by traders.