(Bloomberg) — A global flight from risk assets continued on Wednesday after fears about the US economy and a retreat from big tech triggered a sharp decline in US stocks.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Europe’s Stoxx 600 index dropped 0.9% with technology stocks such as ASML Holding NV taking the biggest losses. Futures contracts for the S&P 500 pulled back 0.5% after the gauge suffered its worst day since the Aug. 5 market meltdown. Asian chipmakers tumbled, in step with Tuesday’s slump in Nvidia Corp., pulling a regional equity benchmark down more than 2%.
Listen to the Bloomberg Daybreak Europe podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen.
Traders are bracing for further volatility as they await data for clues on whether the US economy is on the brink of a recession and how the Federal Reserve might approach monetary policy easing. A US job openings report due on Wednesday is expected to show further cooling in the labor market, following yesterday’s data showing a fifth consecutive month of contraction in manufacturing activity.
As the market’s focus shifts from inflation to concerns over economic growth, negative macro data is increasingly translating into pain for stocks and other risk assets. For now, traders are anticipating the Federal Reserve will reduce rates by more than two full percentage points over the next 12 months — the steepest drop outside of a downturn since the 1980s.
“The market will be jittery into the payroll data this week and a host of other employment indicators,” Mohit Kumar, chief economist for Jefferies International, said in a note to clients. “It is prudent to have some hedges in place as we expect increased volatility over the coming weeks.”
Yields on 10-year Treasuries dropped two basis points to extend Tuesday’s declines. A dollar gauge snapped a five-day winning streak while the yen rose. Oil pushed lower after a decline of almost 5% on Tuesday amid weak demand and oversupply concerns.
Key events this week:
Eurozone HCOB services PMI, PPI, Wednesday
Canada rate decision, Wednesday
US job openings, factory orders, Beige Book, Wednesday
Eurozone retail sales, Thursday
US initial jobless claims, ADP employment, ISM services index, Thursday
Eurozone GDP, Friday
US nonfarm payrolls, Friday
Fed’s John Williams speaks, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.9% as of 8:17 a.m. London time
S&P 500 futures fell 0.5%
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.8%
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 2.4%
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 1.6%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1057
The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 145.02 per dollar
The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 7.1136 per dollar
The British pound was little changed at $1.3113
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 2.9% to $56,499.86
Ether fell 3.1% to $2,385.25
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 3.82%
Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.25%
Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.97%
Commodities
Brent crude fell 0.8% to $73.18 a barrel
Spot gold fell 0.3% to $2,486.61 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
