What Happened The dollar softened broadly on September 5, with USD/JPY falling 1.76% to 156.13 and USD/KRW down 0.89% to 1,346.3. Equities were firm rather than fearful: the Kospi jumped 1.9% to 6,687.21, while the S&P 500 added 0.58% to 7,710.87 and the Nasdaq rose 0.92% to 26,459.52. Gold eased 0.55% to $4,467.10, the 10-year … Read more
The Move The headline number today isn’t in New York, it’s in Seoul. The KOSPI closed up 6.83% to 6,912.95, a move large enough to reset the conversation about where global risk appetite is actually concentrated right now. Contrast that with the S&P 500, down 0.44% to 7,674.37, and the Nasdaq, off 0.57% to 26,180.46 … Read more
What Happened Korean equities moved in the opposite direction from Wall Street on August 19. The KOSPI climbed 0.83% to 6,869.83, while the won firmed slightly against the dollar, with USD/KRW slipping 0.21% to 1,412.37. That divergence stands out against the backdrop of a rough session in the US, where the S&P 500 fell 1.16% … Read more
What Happened US Treasury yields eased again on August 14, with the 10-year note falling 4 basis points to 4.64%. Risk assets took the move in stride: the S&P 500 added 0.81% to close at 7,790.49 and the Nasdaq climbed 1.27% to 26,782.38, while the VIX ticked up marginally to 14.7 — still a level … Read more
What Happened Gold climbed 1.71% to $4,436.30 on the day, while the US 10-year Treasury yield eased roughly 1 basis point to 4.69%. The dollar softened against both the Japanese yen and Korean won, with USD/JPY up 0.90% to 159.32 and USD/KRW up 0.42% to 1,412.85 — moves that reflect broad-based dollar weakness rather than … Read more
The Move Today’s tape doesn’t fit the usual playbook. Gold jumped 5.23% to $4,309.50, the kind of move typically associated with a flight to safety. Yet the VIX fell 3.7% to 15.89, equities rallied hard, and the won strengthened against the dollar, with USD/KRW down 0.53% to 1,421.0. The KOSPI’s 5.45% surge to 6,598.26 and … Read more
Lead: the single most important number today The VIX fell 5.11% to 15.03, a level that signals traders are pricing in calm rather than stress, even as the dollar softened against both the Korean won (USD/KRW down 0.3% to 1,498.87) and the Japanese yen (USD/JPY down 0.53% to 161.67). That combination — falling volatility, a … Read more
What Happened Wednesday’s opening session of July delivered a sharp risk-on surge: the Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.42% to 26,164, the S&P 500 gained 1.88% to reach 7,492, and the CBOE Volatility Index fell 5.78% to 16.63 — a level that places US equity volatility firmly in a low-regime environment. Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.78% to 8,476, … Read more
The Move Three normally uncorrelated assets sold off in tandem on June 25: equities, crude oil, and gold. That configuration is worth pausing on before explaining it away. The S&P 500 declined 1.69% to 7,346.82. The Nasdaq fell 2.72% to 25,454.94. WTI crude dropped 3.81% to $70.42 a barrel. And gold retreated 3.24% to $3,995.90 … Read more