The risk mood begins to sour again on the day

US futures were largely steadier in Asia trading, with S&P 500 futures seen up 0.2% at the time. That comes despite heavy selling in the region, with the Nikkei closing down by over 3% and posting its lowest close since late April. This continues to reaffirm that sentiment is extremely fragile currently and stocks are staying vulnerable to further declines.

This should lead to more safety flows in broader markets, with traders seemingly preferring the Japanese yen and Swiss franc mostly. The dollar is also holding firmer against the rest of the major currencies bloc, even benefiting against gold this week.

As for commodity currencies, the pressure continues with AUD/USD down 0.6% to 0.6540 after a break of key support here.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.