European shares fell on Thursday, dragged down by energy and mining stocks due to sliding commodity prices on worries about slowing economic growth, with several broker calls also spurring big moves in stocks. The continent-wide STOXX 600 index .STOXX dropped 1.1% by 0724 GMT, with oil & gas stocks .SXEP slipping 1.8% as crude prices fell almost 2%. Miners .SXPP shed 2.2% as copper and other metals extended recent declines on growing fears about a recession.MET/L Asian stocks struggled and Wall Street ended lower overnight, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome ...

Asian stocks slipped across the board on Wednesday, failing to extend Wall Street’s rally as persistent worries about interest rates and inflation remained a key focus for investors, while the Japanese yen hit a fresh 24-year low against the dollar. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.39%, still up 1.02% on the more than five-week low it hit on Monday. Tokyo’s Nikkei gave up early gains and was flat. Investors are continuing to assess how worried they need to be about central banks pushing the world economy ...

European shares opened higher on Tuesday, recovering slightly from last week’s 17-month lows as the selloff paused, but major central banks’ rate hike plans and global recession risks kept investors cautious. World stocks have edged higher so far this week, recovering from last week’s sharp selloff which saw global equities tumble to their lowest since November 2020 as expectations for central bank policy tightening to combat high inflation prompted investors to ditch risky assets. At 0750 GMT on Monday, the MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 50 countries, ...

Expectations for how drastically central banks need to tighten monetary policy to fight soaring inflation have taken another leap higher, shaking up global markets and rattling investors. Among the eye-catching moves from monetary authorities in recent days have been a 75-basis-point increase from the Federal Reserve – the largest U.S. rate rise in nearly three decades – the Swiss National Bank’s first hike in 15 years and another 25-basis-point increase by the Bank of England. Investors are bracing for more bold moves. In the United States, Fed funds futures on ...

Stock markets chalked up modest gains on Monday after last week’s hefty losses as investors braced for a host of U.S. Federal Reserve speakers this week, where they could underline a commitment to fight inflation whatever rate pain required. Trading was thinned by a U.S. holiday and investors predicted another choppy session. The euro was little moved after French President Emmanuel Macron lost control of the National Assembly in legislative elections on Sunday, a major setback that could throw the country into political paralysis. However, French government bond yields widened, ...

Wall Street and the Federal Reserve appeared to enter a new reality this week, and the result for investors was big losses with no obvious end point in sight. The S&P 500 posted its 10th down week in the last 11, and is now well into a bear market. On Thursday, all 11 of its sectors closed more than 10% below their recent highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 30,000 for the first time since January 2021 this past week. Unlike recent drawdowns for stocks, however, the central ...

US: Housing and related markets are left vulnerable from Fed policy With the Federal Reserve signalling it has a strong stomach for the fight against inflation we have to expect further significant interest rate hikes in coming months. But by going harder and faster into restrictive territory there is a greater risk of a hard landing and a potential recession. The housing market is particularly vulnerable given prices are up nearly 40% nationally since the start of the pandemic due to stimulus-fuelled demand vastly outstripping the limited supply of properties ...

RBA Minutes On 21 June, the Reserve Bank of Australia releases minutes of its June meeting when it raised the cash rate target to 0.85% from 0.35%, towards the top end of market expectations. The minutes will show the range of opinions expressed and offer clues about whether 50bp rises are the new normal or if we might have to consider Fed-style 75bp hikes at some point. On 23 June, PMI indices will likely continue to show both manufacturing and service sectors growing strongly. With inflation running high, and labour ...

Global investors withdrew big money out of equity and bond funds in the week ended June 15, on elevated concerns over rising inflation levels and chances of an economic recession due to aggressive tightening measures by major central banks. According to Refinitiv Lipper, investors liquidated global equity funds worth a net $30.16 billion, marking their largest net selling since at least July 2020. U.S. consumer prices accelerated faster-than-expected in May, leading to the largest annual increase in nearly 40-1/2 years. It rekindled worries that inflation and rate hikes are going ...

Asia’s emerging economies are better placed than most other regions to weather a bout of turbo-charged U.S. policy tightening, analysts say, but with a health warning that investors shouldn’t rush in. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday, the largest hike in more than a quarter century, and flagged further steep increases for the rest of the year to curb surging inflation. In contrast, only hours earlier China’s central bank kept rates unchanged in the world’s second-largest economy for a fifth straight month. Expectations of ...

A markets sell-off has brought back memories of the euro zone debt crisis more than a decade ago, highlighting divisions that have plagued the currency bloc’s efforts to forge a closer bond. While the years since the debt crisis have seen the 19 countries in Europe’s euro area centralise and toughen bank controls, many planned economic reforms in Italy and elsewhere were watered down as vast money printing buoyed the economy. Spurred by fears higher borrowing costs will choke economic growth, the markets rout has exposed cracks in the uneasy ...

World stocks headed for their worst week since markets’ pandemic meltdown in March 2020, as interest rate hikes in the United States and Britain and a surprise one in Switzerland set investors on edge about future economic growth. The Bank of Japan was the only outlier in a week where money prices rose around the world, sticking with its strategy of pinning 10-year yields near zero on Friday. The yen was down more than 1% to 133.88 per dollar in volatile trade. U.S. futures attempted a bounce and Chinese stocks ...

Global equity funds have shed over 7% this month due to a slump in stock prices as higher inflation levels fuel worries about more aggressive policy tightening by major central banks. Global bond funds have declined 3.5% on average, while money market funds fell 1.4%, data from Refinitiv Lipper showed. With the sharp declines this month, global equity funds have lost one-fifth of their net asset value on average, the data showed. On the other hand, commodity funds were relatively resilient, posting a gain of 0.4% this month. The analysis ...

World stocks fell on Thursday and the dollar regained its footing on concerns over the impact of surging inflation and an aggressive policy tightening outlook from global central banks. The Swiss National Bank raised its policy interest rate for the first time in 15 years with a surprise 50 basis point hike that soured the mood and sent the safe-haven franc up sharply. The MSCI’s benchmark for global stocks gave up earlier gains and by 0803 GMT was down 0.3%. The initial positive reaction to the widely expected 75 basis ...

Emerging Asia ex-China bonds witnessed foreign outflows for a third straight month in May, hit by worries over aggressive tightening measures to curb soaring inflation. Overseas investors offloaded a combined net total of $145 million in South Korea, Thai, Indian, Indonesian and Malaysian bonds last month, data from regulatory authorities and bond market associations showed. Foreigners sold Indonesian bonds worth $2.2 billion, while Indian debt witnessed outflows for a fourth straight month, facing net sales of $715 million in May. India’s central banks raised its key interest rates by 50 ...