A rally in oil prices helped steady markets in Europe and Asia on Friday, even as Brexit loomed in the background. Brent crude oil prices were up over 2% at $68.05 a barrel on Friday. That put the global benchmark on track for its third straight day of gains after steep falls earlier in the week sent it into bear market territory, commonly defined as a 20% fall from a recent peak. U.S. futures pointed to an 0.5% decline for the S&P 500 after the index rose 1.1% on Thursday ...

The stock market bull has been running more or less since early-2009, with almost 200 percent in gains on world stocks at the start of 2018. But ever since hitting record highs early in the year, several equity indexes have been undermined by a poisonous cocktail of rising interest rates, trade tensions, and currency crises in emerging markets. In fact, the bull has turned into a bear in several places: a growing number of equity indexes across the globe have slipped into ‘bear’ territory – commonly defined as a price ...

The price of crude fell from more than $76 a barrel in early October to below $60 currently — a decline of more than 20% — and both oil bulls and bears should be on guard about the meaning of this steep slide. On the one hand, there’s President Donald Trump celebrating oil’s plunge, just as he complained in late September about oil’s price being too high. On the other, many analysts are expressing concern that the lower price of oil CLZ8, +0.94% LCOF9, +1.23% reflects the slower economic demand ...

British stocks slid on Thursday with RBS and housebuilders sharply down after Brexit minister Dominic Raab quit in a blow to Prime Minister Theresa May’s efforts to win backing for her draft deal to exit the EU. Housebuilders, retailers and banks all fell, dragging the FTSE 250 index down 1.5 percent by 1350 GMT, while the exporter-heavy FTSE 100 managed to hold flat, supported by a plunge in the value of sterling against the euro and the dollar. The resignations of Raab and the work and pensions minister Esther McVey ...

Global stocks mostly rebounded Thursday after worries about the technology sector and slowing world growth sent the S&P 500 to a fifth straight session of declines. The Stoxx Europe 600 edged up 0.4% in early trading following gains in Hong Kong and Shanghai, while futures markets pointed to a small opening advance on Wall Street. The FTSE 250 index of U.K. stocks rose 0.7% while the British pound was flat at $1.2991 after receiving a small boost late Wednesday when British Prime Minister Theresa May secured cabinet approval for her ...

Global markets are broadly poised to extend gains through 2019, though the bullish phase is drawing to a close and there’s a significant risk the cycle could turn next year, according to UBS Group AG. Macro imbalances remain low around the world, inflation is under control and global financial conditions are loose, all factors that contribute to the 70 percent probability UBS assigns to expansion through the end of next year, strategists led by Yianos Kontopoulos wrote in a note Monday. But as implied by the title of their note ...

China’s current-account shifting into deficit will pressure global bond markets and speed the yuan’s move toward a more flexible trading regime. That’s the view of Isaac Meng, an emerging-market portfolio manager at Pimco in Hong Kong. China’s current-account deficit in the nine months to September — its first since 1993 — shows how Beijing has rebalanced its economy away from exports to domestic demand. “For the first time in a quarter century, China has become a capital importer — a significant shift in the global pattern of savings and capital ...

Global stocks edged lower Wednesday amid a continued fall in oil prices and mounting questions about global growth. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.7% shortly after the open, dragged down by energy stocks. Asian markets were mostly in the red. On Wall Street, futures pointed to an opening loss of 0.2% for both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Oil prices extended their drop after sinking deeper into a bear market Tuesday as concerns about oversupply and weakening demand engulfed the market. U.S. crude prices were ...

European shares recovered on Tuesday after feeling the strain of a tech rout on Wall Street, while the dollar lost momentum as hopes mounted for a de-escalation in the Sino-U.S. tariff war. Fears of a peak in corporate earnings growth, softening global demand and rising interest rates in the United States have put investors on edge in the past month. The trade war between Washington and Beijing plus risks from Brexit and Italy’s budget row with the European Union have helped the dollar as investors dump riskier assets. Volatility is ...

European shares rose on Tuesday morning as hopes for a de-escalation of the Sino-U.S. tariff war chased the previous session’s fears about a possible downfall of technology stocks after suppliers of Apple cut their forecasts. The pan-European STOXX 600 <.STOXX> gained 0.5 percent by 0950 GMT despite Wall Street’s main indexes sustaining heavy losses on Monday. Markets in Asia overnight recouped some losses after a report that China’s top trade negotiator was preparing to visit the United States ahead of a meeting between the leaders of the world’s two largest ...

Monday’s meager volume across Asian stock markets means one thing: everyone’s waiting for solid news to trade on before getting overly excited one way or another. Most benchmarks in the region posted moves between 0.1 percent and 0.8 percent in either direction. A gauge tracking volatility in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped for a fifth straight day. Even a $31 billion record sales figure from Alibaba Group’s Singles’ Day didn’t give stocks a big lift (consumer shares in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell). Bloomberg Opinion columnist Tim Culpan ...

Global stocks were mixed Monday, as crude prices climbed after Saudi Arabia said it would slash exports and OPEC considered a collective production cut. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.5% in early morning trade, following a mixed performance in Asia. U.S. futures pointed to a small opening drop of 0.2% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while the S&P 500 was on course to shed 0.1% at the open. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, recouped the losses that had sent it close to a bear market last week. On ...

European companies are delivering their most disappointing earnings in nearly three years as a sluggish economy and rising costs take their toll on bottom lines, dealing another blow to investor confidence shaken by Italy’s budget crisis and Brexit. Stocks have seen sharp swings on results days as firms reveal the damage wrought by higher trade tariffs and weaker global demand against a backdrop of sliding equity markets and rising volatility. Some of Europe’s biggest companies, from cement makers and car manufacturers to engineering firms and airlines, warned of weaker margins. ...

Global stocks were mixed on Monday, as crude prices climbed after Saudi Arabia said it would slash exports and OPEC considered a collective production cut. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3% in early morning trade, following a mixed performance in Asia. U.S. futures pointed to small opening gains, of 0.1% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 0.2% for the S&P 500. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, recouped the losses that last week had sent it close to a bear market. On Monday it was trading 2.2% higher at ...

It was looking like a week of wound-licking for Asian stocks. Then crude oil entered a bear market and alarm bells rang on China’s slowdown as tech stocks plunged. Just like that, the region’s equity benchmark erased weekly gains and is now heading for a sixth slide in seven weeks, only worsening the wipeout that already erased $4.3 trillion of market value this year. Of note: energy companies are, by far, the biggest decliners, followed by tech shares as Tencent Holdings sank almost 5 percent. Watch for its quarterly results ...