Dollar holds against the Yen amid growing virus risks

Dollar holds against the Yen amid growing virus risks

The U.S. Dollar held its ground against the Japanese Yen on Wednesday amid the ever-growing risks of the coronavirus heavily impacting the global growth of the economy. The Yen had seen its worst session in a near six months while the Dow Jones stock index ended with its biggest gain since August in overnight trade.

However, the Yen halted its decline by morning, hovering just above a 1-1/2 week low leading many to believe that investors are still cautious.

“Investors want to see some actual stabilization in cases and improvements in recovered people before rallying again,” J.P. Morgan analysts wrote in note.

“As long as we don’t see this in numbers, it feels like the rally should be faded.”

As more deaths occurred in China and with confirmed cases from its neighboring countries, many investors have been switching their stance to safe-haven assets.

Currently, China has taken drastic quarantine protocols to combat the virus – an action forcing the world’s second largest economy to inject 1.7 trillion Yuan ($243 billion) into its financial system. The World Health Organization still remains positive that containing the virus is still achievable.