NEW YORK -- An attempt by European and US stock markets to claw back trade-war inspired losses on Tuesday lacked conviction, leaving them with little to show at the end of the trading day.
World equity markets slumped Monday as trade war fears took a heavy toll on valuations.
"For as much as we sold off yesterday, it's not that much of a rally," said Karl Haeling of LBBW, adding that fallout from a series of trade tariff announcements and threats was weighing on sentiment.
"The lack of a rally probably shows that investor confidence has been shaken more than previously," Haeling said.
WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER
Craig Erlam at Oanda also was cautious.
"Nothing we've heard recently fills investors with any confidence that we're going to see a de-escalation any time soon," he said.
"With tariffs already being implemented and US President Donald Trump promising more in retaliation against the European Union and China, it seems the situation is going to get much worse before it improves."
London, boosted by a weak pound, was Europe's best performer with a 0.4 percent gain at the close, while Paris and Frankfurt were both in the red at the closing bell.
Wall Street finished modestly higher, with the Dow and S&P 500 propelled by gains in petroleum-linked equities.
Oil prices jumped at a US State Department announcement that countries around the world would be sanctioned if they did not halt Iran oil purchases by November 4.
Markets plummeted Monday on reports Trump was planning tighter curbs on Chinese technology investment in America.
Trump has threatened to strike back against China's retaliation to the US tariffs that are due to take effect July 6.
Asian stocks also moved sharply lower on Tuesday amid fear Washington was readying a new phase in its economic confrontation with China.
China was hardest hit, dropping close to 2 percent at the session low before paring losses later in the day.
Tokyo followed the same pattern, even ending up fractionally in the black on bargain-hunting late in the day.
Despite the slight recovery, analysts warned that market sentiment remained fragile.
"The market is in a really bad state. It is in as dangerous a place as it was in 2015," said Zhang Qi, an analyst with Haitong Securities in Shanghai, referring to the market swing 3 years ago that saw the Shanghai index plunging more than 40 percent within three months.
KEY FIGURES AROUND 2100 GMT (5 a.m. Wednesday in Manila)
New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.1 percent at 24,283.11 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 2,723.06 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.4 percent at 7,561.63 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,537.92 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.3 percent at 12,234.34 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,281.29 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 3,368.72 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 22,342.00 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.3 percent at 28,881.40 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 2,844.51 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1600 from $1.1704 at 2100 GMT
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3200 from $1.3281
Dollar/yen: UP at 110.08 yen from 109.77 yen
Oil - Brent Crude: UP $1.58 at $76.31 per barrel
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP $2.45 at $70.53
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK - World equity markets and US bond yields fell while gold rose on Thursday as investors favored safe-haven investments amid growing skepticism US President Donald Trump, embroiled in controversy, would achieve his economic agenda.
Adding to investor concerns was news that a van had slammed into crowds in the Spanish city of Barcelona, killing 13 people, according to media reports, in an attack police were treating as terrorism.
US dollar trading was volatile and US Treasury yields fell on worries Trump will be unable to deliver on campaign promises such as tax reform, even as the White House knocked down speculation that Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, would resign.
A crisis deepened over Trump's response to clashes last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, spurred by a white supremacists protesting the removal of a Confederate statue.
After Trump blamed counter-protesters as much as the white nationalists for clashes that left one woman dead, an exodus of business executives from his advisory councils on Wednesday fueled speculation other officials, such as Cohn, would leave.
Trump on Thursday again decried the removal of pro-slavery Civil War Confederacy monuments, which have fueled U.S. racial tensions.
Rather than a single catalyst, a range of worries prompted investors to take profits, including the tense US relationship with North Korea, the Barcelona attack and domestic turmoil. But some investors said the pullback would likely be temporary.
"The stock market has a great tendency to look at geopolitical or political events, have a small pullback and then just shrug its shoulders," said Burns McKinney, chief investment officer in the Dallas office of Allianz Global Investors.
"Normally it takes a day or two to digest such events, but what the market cares about is corporate earnings," which have been growing at double digits the first and second quarter, McKinney noted.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 274.14 points, or 1.24 percent, to 21,750.73, the S&P 500 lost 38.1 points, or 1.54 percent, to 2,430.01 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 123.20 points, or 1.94 percent, to 6,221.91.
It was only the fourth session this year in which the S&P lost more than 1 percent in a day. The last drop of more than 1 percent came on Aug. 10.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.59 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.57 percent.
The dollar was boosted by weakness in the euro after European Central Bank meeting records showed caution about removing monetary stimulus too soon, but the US currency was volatile as rumors about Cohn swirled.
The dollar index rose 0.2 percent, with the euro down 0.24 percent to $1.174, after hitting a three-week low.
The ECB news came a day after Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed some policymakers cautioning against rate increases while US inflation remained weak.
US Treasury yields fell as investors, unnerved by the deadly attack in Barcelona and Washington turmoil, favored safe, low-yielding bonds over stocks and other risky assets.
Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 11/32 in price to yield 2.1888 percent, compared with 2.225 percent late on Wednesday.
"There's a lot of uncertainties. That's why we haven't retraced back to where we were," said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest rate strategist at TD Securities in New York.
Oil prices rose on Thursday as investors focused on US oil stockpile declines after an industry report suggested inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub were declining.
US crude rose 0.49 percent to $47.01 per barrel and Brent was last at $50.89, up 1.23 percent on the day.
A safe-haven commodity, spot gold added 0.4 percent to $1,287.45 an ounce.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
