Chart Book | Chart of the day: It's all relative

A torrid week for global equities did not leave the Asia-Pacific region unscathed, though in relative terms the region was almost tranquil. Demand for China-focused stocks stopped the region from falling into the excessive pessimism that gripped Europe and the United States. Indeed optimism remains in place at the high end, but not yet high-risk levels as measured by Absolute Strategy Research's proprietary sentiment barometer indicators. Bear in mind though that Asia's relative outperformance might lose some ground this week if developed markets bounce back from their current oversold state.