US stock markets fell again yesterday. After Tuesday's jump, the S&P 500 fell 0.8 percent on Wednesday. below and has fallen about 6 percent in the last 5 days.
European stock indices rose yesterday, but today futures prices predict a negative trading session for Old Continent shares. Markets are very volatile right now and even without major data releases, markets can change significantly in just a few hours. The VIX Volatility Index is down significantly from Monday's highs today, but is still well up from the index's lows earlier this year.
Chinese stock markets have avoided a global equity sell-off. The main Chinese stock indexes are still down about 40 percent. from the heights reached in 2021 at the beginning Low correlation with the global stock market and cheap valuations have kept the country's stocks from falling as much as the rest of the world. Another country that "stood up" better is India. The Asian market, which has grown the most this year (Nifty 50 +11.3%), is still growing rapidly, and investor confidence in the country's government remains high.
Investors are a little calmer in Asian markets, but stocks are still falling. After yesterday, 1.2 percent. growth Japan's Nikkei 225 index is down about 1 percent today, while the yen-dollar exchange rate is almost unchanged during the day. According to JPMorgan, about 75 percent. carried trade strategies (borrowing at low interest rates in yen and buying risky assets or lending at higher interest rates in another currency) were closed. It is announced that this "carry trade" position closing was twice as fast as in previous periods of similar strategies. Such announcements signal that the peak of volatility associated with the Japanese markets has passed.
