Risk aversion sets in with Saudi strike

Equities all across globe are suffering as investors and short sellers rush to sell the market as Saudi Arabia launched air strike against Iran backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Equities were already suffering big selloffs though was not a risk aversion move. Yen last night failed to break below 119.2 as it lacked safe haven bid.

Saudi actions struck massive risk aversion especially in the gulf region. Yen traded close to 118 level.

• Middle East - Saudi Arabia is down about 5%. Dubai stock market is down 4.5%. Kuwait is down 2.5%. Qatar is down 1.8%.
• North America - Futures continuing slump. S&P500 is down .7%.
• Europe - EuroStxx50 is down 1%, DAX is down 1.4%, Italy is down 1.3%, Spain is down 1.1%
• Asia - India's Nifty is down 1.4%. Australia is down more than 1.5%. Nikkei is down 1.4%. China is a rare positive one closing 0.6% above.

What to watch for other than geo-politics?

• Yen is the top performing currency today gaining from safe haven bid. If the performance of the currency soars further against dollar, it will be an indication of further risk aversion or else it will be just a selloff.
  
  
• Dollar is extreme safe haven, when investors usually run for liquidity and almost away from anything else, dollar gets bids. However current situation may not call for such.