Stocks were on the back foot again across both Europe and Asia as the selloff in technology shares that rattled U.S. markets on Tuesday weighed on sentiment. Amid the risk-off mood Treasuries extended gains, but the yen slipped.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index trimmed some losses, but equities still retreated across most sectors as technology companies and miners set the pace. U.S. tech shares yesterday suffered their worst drop since the February rout, as investors were spooked by bad news from companies including Nvidia Corp. and Facebook Inc. U.S. stock futures pared an earlier drop on Wednesday, with contracts for the S&P 500 trading little changed, but contracts for the Nasdaq 100 remaining in the red. Europe’s government bonds followed Treasuries higher.
The latest leg down for tech shares, which have been the driving force for much of the current bull market in global equities, comes at a sensitive time. Stock markets trading with high valuations and tighter liquidity are already being shaken by protectionist moves by Donald Trump. His administration is mulling a crackdown on Chinese investments in technologies the U.S. considers sensitive, the latest step in his plan to punish China for violations of intellectual-property rights.
“The fate of equity markets right now, also the fate of the bull market right now, is heavily connected with tech,” Max Kettner, a Commerzbank AG cross-asset strategist, told Bloomberg TV’s Francine Lacqua.
Elsewhere, the yen weakened as relations between North Korea and other countries appeared to ease. The British pound fluctuated as investors waited for signs of progress on the problem of the Irish border after Brexit. And West Texas oil extended declines a third day on signs a global crude glut may persist.
Here’s a list of of the main events coming up this week:
- The big four euro-area economies are due to release March CPI readings this week.
- U.S. personal income and spending data for February are due to be released on Thursday.
- The Treasury will probably auction about $294 billion of bills and notes this week, its largest slate of supply ever.
Terminal users can read more in our markets live blog.
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.6 percent as of 6:56 a.m. New York time.
- The MSCI All-Country World Index declined 0.5 percent.
- The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index dipped 0.2 percent.
- Germany’s DAX Index sank 0.8 percent.
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.1 percent.
- The MSCI Emerging Market Index decreased 1.6 percent to the lowest in six weeks.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 percent.
- The euro declined 0.1 percent to $1.2393.
- The British pound dipped 0.1 percent to $1.4148.
- The Japanese yen sank 0.5 percent to 105.91 per dollar, the weakest in a week.
- The South Korean Won decreased less than 0.05 percent to 1,070.74 per dollar.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 2.76 percent, the lowest in more than seven weeks.
- Britain’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 1.375 percent, the lowest in two months.
- Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 0.49 percent, reaching the lowest in 11 weeks on its fifth straight decline.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.8 percent to $64.76 a barrel.
- Gold dipped 0.6 percent to $1,337.25 an ounce.
- Copper decreased 0.4 percent to $2.99 a pound.
— With assistance by Garfield Clinton Reynolds, and Adam Haigh
