Beijing has formulated a series of countermeasures, including military actions – Global Times

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Hu Xijin, a commentator at the highly-influential Chinese state media, Global Times, tweeted out on Tuesday, “based on what I know, in response to Pelosi's possible visit to Taiwan, Beijing has formulated a series of countermeasures, including military actions.”

This comes as diplomatic tensions mount ahead of an expected Taiwan visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi this Tuesday.

Also read: China bans over 100 Taiwanese food factories from importing products

Market reaction

The market mood remains risk averse, as investors refrain from placing bets on high-beta assets amid escalating tensions between China and Taiwan over the planned visit by Pelosi to Taipei. The US S&P 500 futures are down 0.52% on the day while AUD/USD is facing a double-whammy from a less hawkish RBA rate hike and China concerns, falling towards 0.6950.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

EUR/USD: Breakdown below trading range support near 1.1770 comes into play

The EUR/USD pair opens with a bearish gap at the start of a new week as the US-Iran war-led global flight to safety boosts the US Dollar. Spot prices, however, lack follow-through selling and manage to hold above mid-1.1700s during the Asian session.

GBP/USD declines below 1.3450 on Middle East tensions, UK political uncertainty

The GBP/USD pair attracts some sellers to around 1.3420 during the early Asian session on Monday. The US Dollar edges higher against the Cable amid escalating tensions in the Middle East after recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend.

Gold jumps over 2% toward $5,400 after US, Israel attack Iran

Gold is on fire at the start of the week, a widely expected move, as investors seek harbor in the traditional store of value, following the continued US and Israel attacks on Iran. The bright metal opened with a bullish gap of about $17 and rallied toward the $5,400 level as Asian traders hit their desks and reacted negatively to the weekend news of the Middle East conflict, rushing for cover in Gold.

Iran escalation: Quick thoughts on markets

Markets are likely to open the week with risk-off, with declines led by airlines, cyclicals and trade-exposed names, while energy, defense and “strategic” sectors may be relatively steadier.

Crisis in the Middle East: The market reaction

A primer on how markets will open on Monday, and why geopolitical risk may not be easily absorbed by financial markets this time around. Geopolitics and events between Iran, the US and the wider Middle East will dominate financial markets on Monday. The situation has continued to escalate as we move through Sunday.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.