Risk-off the prevailing tone in early.........>

FOREX: Risk-off the prevailing tone in early Asia-Pac trade, with JPY the

outperformer amongst G10, while AUD & NZD underperform (Antipodean liquidity is

thinned with Australia as a whole & New Zealand's Auckland region observing

holidays on Monday). Elsewhere USD/CNH sits over 150 pips higher on the day ~30

pips shy of CNH6.9500 at writing.

- Matters surrounding the ever-spreading Coronavirus dominated weekend

headlines. Ultimately, China has extended the Lunar New Year holiday through Feb

2 after the Politburo convened over the weekend. Chinese officials pointed to a

complex virus, that will likely persist in the immediate term. Worth flagging

that some 5mn people have managed to leave Wuhan (the source of the virus), with

cases confirmed in the U.S., Canada, Malaysia & Australia over the weekend.

- The total count of cases now sits over 2,000 with over 50 dead.

- Various countries are working to pull officials & citizens out of the Wuhan

region, with travel restrictions widening across China. Early indications are

that LNY economic activity and travel have been notably softer thus far (in Y/Y

terms).