Equities off highs as second wave fears.......>

FOREX: Equities off highs as second wave fears swirl

- Equities in Europe are softer despite the positive Tuesday Wall Street close.

Most are citing a re-sparking of COVID wave fears, with hotspots across southern

US states, Japan and now Germany, although price action is more reminiscent of

bullish fatigue for the time being.

- The equity pullback has helped boost the greenback and JPY to the top spot in

early trade, with CHF not far behind. This has helped drag most majors off the

week's highs, but pullbacks are shallow for the time being. Further pressure on

growth proxy currencies followed news that the US are targeting the UK and EU

with over $3bln in new tariffs.

- German IFO data fared generally better-than-expected, with business climate

and expectations numbers beating forecast (current assessment, however, was a

miss). IFO now see German growth rebounding 7% in Q3 after business climate rose

at the fastest pace on record.

- Data is few and far between Wednesday, with focus turning to speeches from

Fed's Evans and Bullard, who both speak on the economy.