SINGAPORE- A resurgent dollar held on to overnight gains on Tuesday after virus fears and worries about US stimulus drove a wave of selling in just about everything else.
The dollar rose 0.6 percent against the euro, 0.9 percent against the Aussie and even made gains against the safe-haven currencies of the Japanese yen and Swiss franc.
Against a basket of six major currencies the greenback hit a six-week high and held just below that in early Asian trade at 93.547. Gold fell against the rising dollar.
“The equity selloff gathered quite dramatic momentum during the European day and the risk-averse characteristics of the US dollar really came to the fore,” said National Australia Bank head of FX Ray Attrill.
The heaviest selling was in financials, after a fresh dirty money scandal embarrassed global banks, but soon spread to other sectors and asset classes amid worries about possible new lockdowns as COVID-19 cases spread.
Investors are also fretting that the chances of more fiscal stimulus in the US are ebbing as campaigning dominates the political landscape.
