US and European equity markets regained their poise yesterday to end the month with a flourish as risk appetite recovered in spite of generally gloomy reports on the global economy.
“Monday's equity sell-off seems to have been generally forgotten as global markets stabilise and currencies show a much more optimistic view of the world,” said Sacha Tihanyi, currency strategist at Scotia Capital.
He said the combination of a weak dollar and yen with higher commodity currencies – despite muted performances by oil and gold – depicted a clear lessening of risk aversion. “Market participants continue to eagerly anticipate the opportunity to enter into risk trades.”