They may not be happy about it, but the masters of the universe proved accurate in predicting the stock market selloff of 2018. Long ridiculed as a reverse indicator, especially for failing to predict the financial crisis, the consensus of delegates at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting last January looks pretty smart one year on. Investors were too complacent and stocks, bonds and Bitcoin were set to fall as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates, according to the narrative in the Swiss town of Davos. “There is a numbness ...

If you were surprised by this month’s bounce in global stock markets, next week may tell you if you should join in or stay out. Chinese output data on Monday will set the tone for a week that also sees the first policy updates of the year by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan against the backdrop of a continued global economic slowdown. In the United States, results from blue-chip companies including IBM will give Wall Street traders something to chew on while officials in Washington are ...

Russia and China plan to ditch the US dollar and switch to local currencies in international trade but yet another delay to a new system for yuan-rouble settlements shows just how complex it is to develop an alternative to the greenback. Russia, China and a number of other countries are aiming to cut their dependence on the US dollar, as Washington uses access to the dollar payment system as a weapon to punish nations and individuals for breaking US laws, even outside the United States. In November, Russian Finance Minister ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 2,173 Dec: 965 NYSE-Adv: 2,222 Dec: 776 (Source: Nasdaq)

U.S. fund investors charged into high-yield “junk” bonds during the latest week, pouring in $3.3 billion, the most cash flowing into that market since late 2016, Lipper said on Thursday, boosted by soothing words by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Underscoring investors’ appetite for some risk-taking, investors pulled $15 billion net cash from U.S.-based money market funds, according to the Refinitiv research service. For their part, U.S.-based equity mutual funds – which exclude exchange-traded funds – posted inflows of $4.8 billion, Lipper data showed. “From this week’s results, it appears ...

The pound weakened on Friday as investors took profits after a stellar rally that set the currency up for its biggest weekly gain against the euro in more than a year on growing confidence that a no-deal Brexit can be avoided. Data showing British shoppers cut back on spending in the three months to December was broadly in line with market expectations and sparked just a brief rise in sterling. The bigger focus for traders remained Brexit, especially after a tumultuous week in which British Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal ...

Expectations for easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China continued to buoy stock markets on Friday, putting most major indexes on track to end the week higher. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.9% to around a six-week high shortly after European markets opened. Stock markets in Japan, Shanghai and Hong Kong added over 1%, while futures suggested the S&P 500 would inch higher at the open. The moves came after U.S. stocks rose for a third straight session Thursday thanks to optimism the U.S. would ratchet back tariffs on ...

The dollar steadied on Friday but was set for its first weekly rise in five weeks as doubts grew on the ability of other major global central banks such as the European Central Bank to start raising interest rates this year. While the prospect of another Fed rate hike has been virtually ruled out of money markets this year, markets have also whittled down the odds of the ECB raising interest rates on the back of weak economic data, weighing on the single currency. Money markets are assigning less than ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 1,951 Dec: 1,175 NYSE-Adv: 2,110 Dec: 867 (Source: Nasdaq)

The U.S. dollar rose on Thursday against a euro dragged lower by soft economic data, while the pound took off on hopes of a second referendum on Britain’s membership in the European Union. Against the euro, the dollar strengthened to $1.1367, its highest in nearly two weeks. Inflation data for the trade bloc showed price pressures receding further from the central bank’s target, complicating the situation for the European Central Bank which currently expects to raise interest rates later this year. The single currency has fallen 0.80 percent against the ...

Paul Manafort, while managing Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, is accused of passing private polling data to his Russia business partner, a man with alleged ties to Russian intelligence. This new information, revealed in an unsealed court filing, is likely to stoke the case in Congress for increased sanctions against Russia. Equally importantly, the reverberations will be felt in Moscow, where anger and frustration over the impact of U.S. sanctions – and by implication, Vladimir Putin’s leadership – is increasing. Putin’s focus, in the face of sanctions, has been to ...

The euro huddled at a two-week low against the dollar on Thursday as weak euro zone data pulled the single currency below a key market level, while the pound stabilized as British policymakers seek consensus on how to exit the European Union. “Euro zone data has been quite disappointing and that is prompting the euro to underperform the struggling dollar in the opening weeks of the year,” said Alvin Tan, a currency strategist at Societe Generale in London. The euro <EUR=EBS> held at $1.1398, broadly flat against the dollar. It ...

Global stocks showed signs of cooling Thursday after markets in the U.S., China and Europe advanced for two consecutive sessions. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.5% in early trading led by declines in banks and auto companies, following modest losses across Asian markets. Futures pointed to a 0.6% opening loss for the S&P 500 after the index closed at its highest level in a month. Lingering concerns about global trade, economic growth and a handful of disappointing corporate results contributed to Thursday’s downbeat trading, analysts said. Among decliners in ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 1,923 Dec: 1,190 NYSE-Adv: 1,825 Dec: 1,115 (Source: Nasdaq)

Pan-European stock market operator Euronext (ENX.PA) launched its $729 million cash bid for Oslo Bors OSLO.NFF on Monday, just hours after the Norwegian stock market operator said it had found potential alternative bidders. Euronext, which already runs exchanges in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Dublin, is offering 145 Norwegian crowns per share, valuing Oslo Bors at 6.24 billion crowns ($729 million). The offer is set to expire on Feb. 11. Euronext said last month shareholders representing a little more than 50 percent of Oslo Bors’ shares had committed to sell ...