Stocks Extend Losses, Bond Yields Hit Record Lows: Markets Wrap - Yahoo Finance

Stocks Extend Losses, Bond Yields Hit Record Lows: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- The worldwide stock sell-off extended on Thursday, putting a global benchmark on course for the lowest close since October as investors continue to fret the spread of the coronavirus. Most government bonds added to gains, sending yields to unprecedented lows.

Futures on the S&P 500 dropped as much as 1.6% but recovered to trade around 1% lower. The MSCI All-Country World Index fell for a sixth straight day, with Japan’s Topix and the Stoxx Europe 600 leading declines among major indexes. Anheuser-Busch InBev NV was among the worst performers in Europe after a dismal forecast. Several large companies on the benchmark, including HSBC Holdings Plc, are today trading without the right to dividends, potentially exacerbating declines.

Safer assets continued to be in demand, and the yen strengthened as yields on 10-year U.S. and Australian government bonds hit fresh record lows. Oil sank further. The pound reversed a gain after the U.K. told the European Union it could walk away from the negotiating table in June if progress isn’t being made toward a trade deal.

While the pace of selling across markets appears to have eased a little -- shares even edged up in both Hong Kong and Shanghai on Thursday -- the losses overall continue to mount as investors weigh each gloomy headline on the virus. U.S. health authorities on Wednesday said they found the first case of the illness that does not have ties to a known outbreak. Microsoft Corp. joined an expanding list of companies warning over the impact of the virus on operations.

“The fact that, not only, is there no sign yet of the pathogen being contained, but rather we now also face the specter of it spreading through the U.S., will continue to weigh on the global macro outlook for the coming months,” Simon Ballard, chief economist at First Abu Dhabi Bank, wrote in a note. “Buckle up for continued high volatility and escalating risk aversion.”

Here are some key events still to come this week:

Earnings keep rolling in from companies including: Baidu Inc., Best Buy Co., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Dell Technologies Inc. on Thursday, and London Stock Exchange Group Plc on Friday.U.S. jobless claims and durable goods data are out Thursday.Japan industrial production, jobs, and retail sales figures are due on Friday.

These are the major moves in markets:

Stocks

Futures on the S&P 500 Index declined 1% as of 6:12 a.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 2.5%.The U.K.‘s FTSE 100 Index fell 2.1%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dipped 0.7%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1%.The euro jumped 0.5% to $1.094.The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2868.The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% to 110.06 per dollar.The offshore yuan strengthened 0.1% to 7.0122 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell five basis points to 1.29%.

Commodities

Gold strengthened 0.4% to $1,647.83 an ounce.West Texas Intermediate crude declined 2.3% to $47.62 a barrel.

--With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Gregor Stuart Hunter, Winnie Zhu and Adam Haigh.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sam Potter in London at spotter33@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Potter at spotter33@bloomberg.net, Yakob Peterseil

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2020-02-27 11:18:00Z
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