World stocks rise on tame inflation outlook, dollar eases

NEW YORK -- World equity markets advanced broadly on Wednesday after US data again showed risk-friendly low inflation, which weakened the dollar, while Boeing shares gained even as the United States said it would ground the company's 737 MAX aircraft.

Shares in Europe rose on investor optimism that British lawmakers would reject leaving the European Union without a deal. A late night vote in Parliament ruled out a potentially disorderly 'no-deal' Brexit under any circumstances.

Trading in Boeing was volatile but another benign reading on inflation bolstered risk appetite and sent Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index, to its lowest point since October.

US producer prices edged barely higher in February, in the smallest annual increase since June 2017, the latest sign of tame inflation that supports the Federal Reserve's "patient" approach to future interest rate hikes.

Other data showed new orders for US-made capital goods increased by the most in six months in January and shipments also rose, but business spending on equipment remained soft, leaving forecasts for weak first-quarter economic growth intact.

Boeing gained for the first time since Sunday's crash of a 737 MAX 8 jet in Ethiopia. Its shares retreated for part of the session after first Canada and then the United States said they were grounding 737 MAX jets, following steps already taken by Europe and other nations. The stock closed up 0.5 percent.

The grounding gives Boeing time to address any problems and not face another potential disaster, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.

US stocks advanced broadly with all 11 of the S&P 500's sectors rising, boosted by health care and energy , which also lifted shares in Europe.

Economic data still suggests an "OK" economy but analysts' estimates of corporate profits are slowing, which is worrisome, said Michael Geraghty, equity strategist at Cornerstone Capital Group in New York.

"Earnings estimate revisions continue to come downward, but that does not seem for the moment to be fazing equity investors," he said. "It's the old mantra: Don't fight the Fed."

A Fed on hold for hiking rates suggests concern about economic growth, which can be seen in a narrowing gap between 10-year and two-year US Treasury yields, Geraghty said. An inverted yield curve historically has been an indicator of recession.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.51 percent while the FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed up 0.69 percent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148.23 points, or 0.58 percent, to 25,702.89. The S&P 500 gained 19.4 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,810.92 and the Nasdaq Composite added 52.37 points, or 0.69 percent, to 7,643.41.

The pound rose on expectations lawmakers would reject a no-deal Brexit and gained further after the motion in Parliament paved the way for a new vote to delay departure from the EU.

Sterling rose 1.72 percent to $1.3298.

The dollar index fell 0.47 percent, with the euro up 0.4 percent to $1.1331. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.19 percent versus the greenback at 111.17 per dollar.

US Treasury yields rose after falling in the previous session as risk appetite improved and equity markets steadied.

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes fell 2/32 in price to push yields up to 2.6141 percent.

"After yesterday's CPI data, yields fell. So some of these are just rebound after that," said Stan Shipley, fixed income strategist at Evercore ISI in New York.

Oil futures rallied more than 1 percent as an unexpected drop in US crude inventory and a forecast of slower-than-expected supply growth from the world's top crude producer boosted prices.

US crude stocks fell last week as refineries hiked output, the US Energy Information Administration said.

US crude rose $1.39 to settle at $58.26 per barrel and Brent settled up 88 cents at $67.55.

Gold hit nearly a two-week high as tepid US economic data reinforced views the Fed would be patient on monetary policy. US gold futures settled 0.9 percent higher at $1,309.3 per ounce.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

US stocks fall most in 6 years, Treasury yields fall from last week's 4-year high

NEW YORK - US stocks saw their biggest 1-day fall in 6 years on Monday, as investor profit taking brought the market back down from record highs seen in late January, after benchmark bond yields rose to a four year high last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 1,600 points for its biggest intraday drop in history in points terms, or more than 6.0 percent, before ending down 1,175.21 points, or 4.6 percent for its biggest one-day fall since August 2011.

Only last month the Dow and benchmark S&P 500 index had their best monthly gains in 2 years, with stocks reaching record levels on Jan. 26, supported by the benefit of a cut in US corporate taxes in December, rising earnings, and healthy global economic growth.

But with the Federal Reserve seen likely to raise short term interest rates another 3 or 4 times in 2018, bond yields have been rising, and last Friday's healthy US labor market report sparked fears of rising inflation, leading to Monday's sharp bout of profit taking.

"The market is looking for a new sustainable valuation level for both stocks and bonds, and that to me is the underlying catalyst," said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Grup in Minneapolis.

The CBoe Volatility index closed at its highest since August 2015.

Selling hit all S&P sectors, though the S&P financial index , down 5.0 percent, was the biggest daily percentage decliner, followed by healthcare, down 4.6 percent.

"It looks to me like a typical type of scenario when you see a single stock flash crash where you'll see bids just disappear, stop orders get kicked," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey. "The overall market could have taken a cue from some of the bigger names."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,175.21 points, or 4.6 percent, to 24,345.75, the S&P 500 lost 113.19 points, or 4.10 percent, to 2,648.94 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 273.42 points, or 3.78 percent, to 6,967.53.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 1.51 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 2.96 percent.

After rising sharply last week, US Treasury yields fell from 4-year highs on Monday as the selloff in equity markets sparked demand for low risk debt.

Benchmark US 10-year note yields surged to 2.885 percent overnight, the highest since January 2014, following data Friday that showed hourly wages rose in January.

The 10-year notes last rose 38/32 in price to yield 2.7093 percent, down from 2.852 percent late on Friday.

The US dollar rose against a basket of currencies as the US bond market selloff leveled off.

The dollar index rose 0.49 percent, with the euro last up 0.06 percent to $1.2375.

Oil prices settled lower, pressured by rising US output and other factors.

US crude fell 1.99 percent to $64.15 a barrel, while Brent fell 1.4 percent to $67.62.

Spot gold steadied at $1,334.40 an ounce. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bitcoin makes muted stock exchange debut at $15,000

NEW YORK - Cryptocurrency Bitcoin made its debut on a major bourse Sunday, opening at $15,000 per unit at the Chicago board options exchange.

Around 23:20 GMT, the price of the currency had risen to $15,940 dollars on a futures contract scheduled for settlement on January 17 according to data provided by the Chicago board options exchange (Cboe).

A futures contract is a financial product that allows investors to bet on whether the currency's price will rise or fall.

It is the first opportunity for professional investors to invest in bitcoin.

Many are way of embracing bitcoin because it has no central bank backing it and no legal exchange rate.

The first twenty minutes of trading saw volatility, with the price rising to $16,600 per unit before going down.

Bob Fitzsimmons, a futures manager at Wedbush Securities, told AFP approximately 150 trades were made in the first few minutes.

"It's quiet," he said.

Its price was $15,250 in pre-opening trades that took place 45 minutes before the official start, Fitzsimmons added.

This was still far short of its highs of $17,000 on other non-regulated online platforms last week.

The Cboe website was down at the time of the debut on Sunday.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

S&P 500 chalks up record high as fear gives way

The S&P 500 surged over 1 percent to a record high close on Monday as tropical storm Irma caused less damage than expected in Florida, and after North Korea did not test-fire missiles over the weekend, which some had feared.

All 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, led by financial stocks, with insurers advancing as Irma, once ranked as one of the most powerful hurricane recorded in the Atlantic, lost power.

Irma caused severe flooding in many Florida cities and left more than 6 million homes and businesses without power, but damage appeared to be less than expected. That relieved investors, especially in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, whose devastation is estimated to dent third-quarter economic growth.

Geopolitical tensions eased after North Korea did not mark its founding day on Saturday with another launch of a long-range missile, which the United States and its allies had been bracing for.

"It is a risk back on situation, people are going back into the market," said Neil Massa, senior equity trader at Manulife Asset Management in Boston. "For now, it is a relief rally for things on both ends - geopolitical and weather wise."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.19 percent to end at 22,057.37 points in its largest one-day gain since February.

The S&P 500 gained 1.08 percent to 2,488.11 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.13 percent to 6,432.26.

The CBOE volatility index, a widely-followed measure of market anxiety, fell 1.36 points to 10.76.

The S&P 500 financial index jumped 1.74 percent, with JPMorgan up 2.18 percent and insurer Travelers up 2.34 percent.

With investors less worried about Irma's impact, insurers Universal Insurance Holdings and HCI Group surged more than 12 percent, while Heritage Insurance soared 21 percent.

So far in 2017, the S&P 500 has risen 10 percent. It is trading near 17.6 times expected earnings, compared to its 10-year average of 14.3, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.

"Valuations don't bother me terribly," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York. "I don't think we're at a level where valuations themselves are going to cause a correction."

Apple rose 1.81 percent a day ahead of the expected launch of a new iPhone, providing the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and S&P 500.

Tesla jumped 5.91 percent on news that China was studying when to ban the production and sale of cars using traditional fuels.

Teva jumped 19 percent after the generic drugmaker named a new chief executive.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.73-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.56-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

About 6 billion shares changed hands in US exchanges, above the 5.8 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

US stocks, dollar tumble as investors rethink 'Trump trade'

NEW YORK - Stocks on major markets and the US dollar sold off while bond yields fell on Wednesday as investors fled risky assets amid uncertainty about US President Donald Trump's ability to deliver on his tax and banking reforms and infrastructure spending.

Reports that Trump asked then-Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey to end a probe into the former national security adviser have raised questions over whether Trump tried to interfere with a federal investigation.

US stock market declines accelerated in afternoon trading, and major US indexes ended near session lows. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 372 points, and both the Dow and S&P 500 suffered their worst percentage drops since Sept. 9.

The CBOE Volatility index, the most widely followed barometer of expected near-term stock market volatility, ended above the 15 level in its highest close since April 13. The US dollar index has now erased its post-election gains.

A small but growing number of Trump's fellow Republicans called on Wednesday for an independent probe of possible collusion between his 2016 campaign and Russia.

The news came after a tumultuous week at the White House when Trump unexpectedly fired FBI director Comey and reportedly disclosed classified information to Russia's foreign minister about a planned Islamic State operation.

Optimism over pro-growth economic policies under Trump helped drive a sharp rally in US stocks after the Nov. 8 US election. Even with Wednesday's declines, the S&P 500 stock index is up 10.2 percent since last November's US elections though.

"It's certainly a day when the chickens are coming home to roost," said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at Newbridge Securities in New York.

"The (equity) bull market is not over by any means, but between the political stuff and the fact that the next earnings season is three months away, there's going to be a lack of motivation."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 372.82 points, or 1.78 percent, to end at 20,606.93, the S&P 500 index lost 43.64 points, or 1.82 percent, to 2,357.03 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 158.63 points, or 2.57 percent, to 6,011.24.

The Nasdaq had its worst day since June 24. Both the Dow and S&P 500 fell below their 50-day moving averages for the first time since April 21.

While previous threats to Trump's plans have rattled investors, they had failed to cause any significant pull back in stocks. The VIX last week closed at 9.77, its lowest close since December 1993.

Bank stocks, which outperformed in the post-election rally, were the worst hit on Wednesday. The S&P 500 financial sector tumbled 3 percent.

At nearly 18 times forward earnings, the S&P 500 trades at a significant premium to its long-term average valuations of 15 times, according to Thomson Reuters data.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 1.2 percent, while European shares ended down 1.4 percent.

"It's registering with more investors that it's going to be hard to get back on track with the latest allegations," Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Prices of bonds, seen as safe-haven assets, rallied, while yields were on track for their biggest daily percentage drops since July.

Benchmark 10-year notes gained a full point in price to yield 2.22 percent, the lowest since April 21, and down from 2.33 percent late on Tuesday.

The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against six peers and had scaled a 14-year peak of 103.82 on Jan. 3, fell 0.6 percent to its lowest level since Nov. 9, surrendering all of its "Trump bump" gains. The dollar also fell by nearly 2 percent against the yen.

In commodity markets, safe-haven gold hit a two-week high, while oil prices were higher. Spot gold rose for a fifth day and was up 1.8 percent at $1,258.38 an ounce.

Brent crude gained 1.1 percent to settle at $52.21 per barrel, while US light crude rose 0.8 percent to settle at $49.07.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Asia shares seen to join global rally after Trump shock

SYDNEY - Asian shares were set to rally hard on Thursday after global markets made a truly remarkable comeback from the shock of Republican Donald Trump's presidential victory, dumping safe-havens for the tempting returns of risk assets.

The US dollar carved out a staggering range, rebounding from as low as 101.19 yen all the way to 105.83, a move that will come as a huge relief to Japanese exporters.

Nikkei futures were trading at 17,250, no less than 1,000 points above the cash index close, implying stocks would recoup all of Wednesday's 5 percent loss and more.

Yields on US Treasury 10-year notes reversed an initial plunge to 1.716 percent to reach 2.09 percent, the highest since January. The net rise of 21 basis points was also the largest daily increase since July 2013.

Analysts were more than a little puzzled by the moves.

"An astonishing turnaround in risk appetite pushed equities and Treasury yields higher," said Imre Speizer, an economist at Westpac. "Markets appeared to reassess the economic outlook under Trump, towards one of higher growth and higher inflation."

He noted that a key market barometer of 10-year inflation expectations had jumped to a 16-month peak of 1.87 percent.

This in turn led investors to completely revise the outlook for US interest rates, with the probability of a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve going from as low as 30 percent to as high as 80 percent.

The dollar responded by rising across the board. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar recovered from its Wednesday trough of 95.885 to reach 98.602, a gain of 0.8 percent on the day.

Having stretched as high as $1.1299 in the initial panic over Trump's win, the euro then slumped all the way to $1.0913 - a move of almost four cents.

The action was no less noteworthy on Wall Street, where S&P 500 futures had shed 5 percent at one stage in Asia on Wednesday only to stand 1.1 percent higher late in the day.

The Dow jumped 1.4 percent, while the cash S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both added 1.11 percent. Trading volume was the highest since June, when Britain also shocked traders by voting to abandon the European Union.

The CBOE Volatility index, a gauge of investor anxiety, fell 23 percent and was on track for its biggest daily drop since late June.

ASIA WARY ON TRADE, ALLIANCES

Traders said investors piled into financial and healthcare stocks on speculation a Trump administration would greatly ease regulations on the sectors.

Trump has also promised generous tax cuts, particularly for the higher paid, and more infrastructure and defence spending, though analysts were unsure how much of this would actually come to fruition.

There were also concerns about whether Trump would follow through with threatened punitive tariffs on Chinese and Mexican exports, potentially triggering a global trade war.

Mexico's peso was still down 8.7 percent after touching a life-time low overnight.

"Further out, Trump's protectionist policies may prove another big step back in the gradual unwinding of goods globalisation that has defined the past 30 years," wrote analysts at Nomura in a note to clients.

"Another important factor is that a Trump presidency would bring with it uncertainty that could undermine the Pax Americana, with all the benefits this has brought to the world in general and, perhaps, Asia in particular since 1945."

For now, investors seemed willing to give the president-elect the benefit of the doubt, as witnessed by a broad advance in bulk commodity prices.

Copper alone added 3.4 percent while iron ore surged 4.7 percent to its highest since January 2015.

Oil prices recovered along with US equities, with Brent crude up 53 cents at $46.57 a barrel and US crude rising 36 cents to $45.34.

Safe-haven gold, however, pulled back sharply to $1,277 an ounce having been as high as $1,337.40 at one stage.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Wall Street tumbles to 2014 low as oil prices sink

Wall Street's recent selloff deepened on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing at its lowest in over a year as U.S. oil prices plummeted to 2003 lows.

The equities rout was widespread, hitting nine of the 10 major S&P sectors. The small-cap Russell's 2000 index .RUT fell 3.6 percent before reversing its loss late in the session.

The beaten-down S&P energy sector .SPNY fell 2.93 percent, leading the losers. Exxon (XOM.N) dropped 4.21 percent and Chevron (CVX.N) slumped 3.10 percent.

Collapsing oil prices and fears of a slowdown in China, the world's second largest economy and a key market for U.S. companies, have led the S&P 500 to drop 9 percent this year. In the past six months, the energy sector has fallen 26 percent.

"The fear is, 'Is tomorrow going to bring more selling?' People are not even thinking about today, they're thinking about tomorrow," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

U.S. crude sank 6.6 percent on Wednesday as a supply glut bumped up against bearish financial reports that deepened worries over demand.

But a late-day bounce in U.S. oil prices helped reduce losses in stocks.

"If you look at crude prices, they are shooting right back up," Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, said ahead of the close.

The S&P 500 .SPX ended down 1.17 percent at 1,859.33, its lowest close since October 2014. It had fallen as low as 1,812.29.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI ended 1.56 percent lower at 15,766.74 points.

After a brief late-day rally into positive territory, the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost steam and ended down 0.12 percent at 4,471.69.

The CBOE volatility index .VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, jumped 5.9 percent to 27.59.

Strength last year in Netflix, Facebook and a handful of other technology stocks masked troubled sentiment in other S&P 500 components, said R Squared portfolio manager Riad Younes.

“You had a crowded trade on a few names that kept the average much higher than it should be,” Younes said. “It feels like a bear market for the average stock.”

IBM (IBM.N) weighed the most on the Dow, falling 4.88 percent after disappointing earnings report.

Netflix (NFLX.O) ended down 0.14 percent despite better-than-expected growth in its subscriber base.

An unusually high 12.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, well above the 7.8 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The New York Stock Exchange recorded 2,271 stocks advancing stocks and 883 decliners. On the Nasdaq, 1,551 issues fell and 1,331 advanced.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 182 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 5 new highs and 728 new lows.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Asia shares stage patchy recovery but volatility seen staying high

TOKYO - Asian shares struggled to recover on Thursday with volatility remaining high, while emerging economy and commodity-linked currencies softened as investors worried about the global repercussions of slower growth in China.

Japan's Nikkei rose for the first time in four days, gaining 0.7 percent.

Many Asian bourses also advanced but weakness in Australia and falls in Asian currencies drove MSCI's dollar-denominated broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.2 percent.

European shares are expected to rise, with spread betters looking to gains of up to 0.9 percent in Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE.

Wall Street stocks also jumped almost 2 percent on Wednesday, which traders saw as a natural move after big falls.

Despite Wednesday's rebound, shares have only recovered about half of the losses seen earlier in the week.

Also helping to boost the market, Apple, the world's largest company by market capitalization, jumped more than 4 percent, in anticipation of its Sept 9 media event where it is expected to unveil new iPhones and potentially a new version of its Apple TV set-top box.

Traders were spared for now from keeping a nail-biting watch on wild Chinese share markets, which are closed for a holiday for the rest of the week.

Still, highlighting the woes of commodity exporters that are suffering from concern about cooling growth in China, the Australian dollar fell 0.3 percent after weak local retail sales.

The Aussie slipped to $0.7020 near its six-year low of $0.6982 touched on Wednesday.

Oil prices also remained volatile after their 25 percent surge late last month from 6 1/2-year lows.

Brent crude last stood at $50.43 per barrel, slipping further from one-month high of $54.32 hit on Monday, though it kept some distance from a 6 1/2-year low of $42.23 hit just one week before that.

HIGH VOLATILITY THE NEW NORM?

While global share prices may be getting some respite, any relief rallies may be brief.

With uncertainty over policy in the United States and China, investors expect trade to remain extremely choppy.

The CBOE Volatility index is still at 26, about twice as high as its usual levels around 12 to 16, even as it has eased from a high over 50 percent hit last week.

A similar gauge for the Japanese share market, the Nikkei volatility index, stood at 36 while that for Europe was at 37 on Wednesday.

"Whenever the VIX has hit 40 in the past, volatility has stayed high for a while. I expect more aftershocks will follow," said Arihiro Nagata, head of derivatives at SMBC Nikko Securities.

In the currency market, the dollar firmed slightly against the yen, in line with the recovery in global share prices, to 120.45 yen. The euro was little changed at $1.1225, ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the day, with some traders speculating the bank could drop hints of further easing to keep the euro zone's nascent recovery in shape.

On the other hand, many emerging market currencies remained under pressure, hit by China fears and the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates.

The Brazilian real tumbled to its weakest level since 2002 on Wednesday as expectations of a growing fiscal deficit fed fears that Brazil would lose its investment-grade credit rating.

Emerging market currencies could face more pressure if Friday's U.S. payrolls data reinforce expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve is on course to raise interest rates in coming months.

On Wednesday, U.S payroll processor ADP reported that private payrolls increased 190,000 last month. While that was below economists' expectations for a gain of 201,000 jobs, it was a step up from the 177,000 positions created in July.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Asian shares bounce off 3-year lows while China's suffering goes on

TOKYO - Volatile global markets showed signs of a respite from the recent blood-letting on Tuesday, as bargain hunters helped Asian stocks off three-year lows hit on fears that China's economy was risking a hard landing, with Chinese shares losing another 5 percent.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 1.7 percent after an initial dip to three-year lows while Japan's Nikkei index also erased most of its early losses after an initial drop of 4.3 percent.

"There appears to be buyback as many markets look oversold after panicky selling in the last few days. Even the shares that had little business ties with China were sold," said Yukino Yamada, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

U.S. stock futures also gained 2.0 percent in Asia, paring a part of its 5-percent fall the previous day.

But mainland Chinese shares bucked the trend, with Shanghai Composite Index falling another five percent even after 15 percent fall in the last three days, including 8.5 percent drop on Monday.

"Global investors are cannibalizing each other. Calling it a market disaster is not an overstatement," said Zhou Lin, an analyst at Huatai Securities.

"The mood of panic is dominating the market ... And I don't see any signs of meaningful government intervention."

Underlining concerns about China, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday he hoped China would take action to stabilize its economy and that Tokyo had no plan for now to unveil its own new economic stimulus package.

MSCI's all country world index is up 0.2 percent in Asia after having fallen 3.8 percent on Monday to a 10 1/2-month low, its biggest fall in almost four years.

Global share markets have been hit by worries that the Chinese economy, the most important engine for the world economy, was growing at a much slower pace than Beijing's 7 percent target for 2015.

Investors are also unnerved by uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy. The Federal Reserve has said it plans to raise interest rates this year for the first time in almost a decade.

The heavy fall in share prices worldwide over the past week has sharply reduced expectations of a U.S. rate hike in September, but the outlook is far from clear.

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, whose comments earlier this month sparked expectations of a hike in September, said on Monday that the Federal Reserve will likely begin raising rates "sometime this year."

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 Index fell 3.9 percent to a 10-month low on Monday. The CBOE volatility index, a key measure of U.S. equity volatility, shot up to more than 50 percent at one point for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Because some investors often fund their investment in risk assets by borrowing low-yielding euro and yen, the sell-off in shares helped send both currencies to seven-month highs.

The euro rose as high as $1.1715 while the yen strengthened to 116.15 to the dollar.

But both currencies stepped back in Asia. The euro slipped 0.7 percent to $1.1531 while the yen retreated to 120.02 to the dollar.

Oil prices also stabilized in Asia after having plunged more than 6 percent on Monday to 6 1/2-year lows.

U.S. crude futures traded at $38.73 per barrel, gaining a dollar from Monday's low of $37.75.

Brent crude futures last stood at $43.20 after having fallen to $42.23 on Monday.

Brent still stood not far from $36.20, its low hit in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, having fallen more than 66 percent from last year's peak.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com