While coronavirus steals the show,.....>

TURKISH LIRA: While coronavirus steals the show, USD/TRY creeps higher on the

back of geopolitical concerns. At least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an

airstrike in Syria, with President Erdogan pledging to retaliate against "all

[Syrian] regime targets." Escalating violence in the country has increasingly

put Turkey at odds with Russia, which provides warplane support to the regime in

Damascus. Russia pushed back against accusations of carrying out the strike, but

noted that Turkish troops shouldn't have been in the area at that time.

- BBG reported that Turkey has banned short-selling of stocks today.

- Elsewhere, the Demiroren agency reported that ~300 refugees from the Middle

East based in Turkey are heading towards the country's border with Greece. This

comes after Turkey's ruling party said that the country "is not in a position to

hold the refugees anymore" even as general policy remains the same.

- USD/TRY last sits at TRY6.2404, 314 pips better off. A key resistance from the

May 9 high of TRY6.2457 is in sight, a break here would expose the TRY6.5000

mark. On the flip side, bears look for a fall below TRY6.0719, the low of Feb

25.