Several countries – China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia – are closed for the Chinese New Year

• 1 trade deal was finally signed. WTI’s plunged 18% from its Jan. 8 peak, with the #coronavirus seen hitting transportation and energy demand particularly hard and ME supply disruption threats downgraded for now. 

• Fears about the human and financial impact of the coronavirus have dominated financial markets in the Asian session. Several countries – China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia – are closed for the Chinese New Year and this has impacted liquidity; to some extent it’s also exacerbated the moves.

• FX is relatively calm, but stocks and oil are under pressure, while USTs have caught a decent bid. #Gold is also firmer, as investors look for safety.

• The Q4 earnings season continues in the US - 147 S&P 500 companies (including 14 Dow 30 components) are scheduled to report results for fourth quarter. #Apple (#AAPL), 3M (MMM), #Pfizer (#PFE), AT&T (T), #Boeing (BA), General Electric (GE), #Microsoft (#MSFT), #Tesla (#TSLA), #Coca-Cola (#KO), UPS (UPS), #Amazon (#AMZN), #Caterpillar (CAT) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) are just a few of the big-name companies due to report their quarterly results.

• As the lunar new year holiday approaches, the focus will remain on news about the virus, with some interest in the Jan. 29 FOMC meeting and possible upward tweak to the IOER rate and any commentary regarding the curve flattening trend. The Bank of England interest rate decision Jan. 30 also will be interesting and certainly market moving intraday as markets are split 55/54 in favour of a rate cut of 25bps.