Stocks in Europe, Asia extend selloff with oil; dollar rebounds
By Bloomberg
Stocks fell in Europe and Asia and oil slumped amid concern that the global economic outlook is worsening. Treasuries fell and Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures rose with the dollar before the Federal Reserve releases minutes of its last meeting.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.7 percent by 8:13 a.m. in London as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.1 percent. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2 percent after the U.S. gauge's lowest close in almost two months. Ten-year Treasury yields rose two basis points after tumbling yesterday and the dollar gained against most peers, rising 0.2 percent versus the euro. Gold advanced 0.7 percent while Brent crude hit a two-year low.
European Union leaders meet in Milan today to discuss fiscal policies after the IMF cut its global growth forecast yesterday and warned about risks posed by geopolitical tensions and "frothy" stock markets. The Federal Reserve releases minutes of its last meeting as Alcoa Inc. will report earnings amid reduced estimates for profit growth at U.S. companies. A gauge of China's services industries fell as markets there reopened after being closed for a holiday since Oct. 1.
"The global economic recovery has proved yet again to be fragile and uneven," Shane Oliver, a global strategist at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which oversees about $131 billion, said by e-mail in Sydney. "The rough patch we have seen in shares lately could go a bit further."
The MSCI All-Country World Index, which dropped 1.9 percent while China's markets were closed, retreated 0.4 percent today. The measure slid 1 percent last session to its lowest level since April 15.
More about 18 stocks dropped for each that gained on the Stoxx 600, which plunged 1.5 percent yesterday to the lowest close since Aug. 15.
Strike Impact
Air France-KLM slid 0.6 percent after it said the worst strike in the airline's history, which crippled flights for two full weeks last month, may cut profit this year by 500 million euros ($632 million) amid lost revenues from canceled flights.
Novartis AG retreated 0.8 percent after saying three division heads will leave following the completion of deals with GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Eli Lilly & Co. Gerresheimer AG dropped 3.9 percent after the maker of specialty plastic and glass products reporting third-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates.
Swisscom AG added 2 percent after Reuters reported Switzerland's largest phone carrier is working with UBS AG on a possible sale of its Italian broadband unit.
Asian Equities
A gauge of emerging-market equities sank 0.8 percent. Shares in Jakarta declined, with the benchmark index there dropping 1 percent.
Japan's Topix slipped 1.2 percent to the lowest close since Aug. 18. The yen, regarded as a haven by some investors, dropped 0.2 percent to 108.25 per dollar after gaining 1.6 percent over the past two days.
South Korea's Kospi index finished 0.4 percent lower as the won dropped 0.8 percent to a six-month low. The S&P/ASX 200 Index in Sydney lost 1 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 0.7 percent as the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index declined 0.7 percent. The enterprises gauge, which tracks mainland Chinese stocks listed in the city, gained 1.5 percent in its three trading days since Sept. 30, with pro-democracy protest leaders agreeing to start talks with the government Oct. 10.
The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.8 percent, led by property companies after the government eased real-estate curbs for the first time since the global financial crisis. All industries on the gauge advanced today.
China Services
The HSBC Holdings Plc/Markit Economics China services purchasing managers index fell to 53.5 in September from 54.1 a month before. An official non-manufacturing gauge for the country released Oct. 3 dropped to 54 for September from 54.4 in August
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.2 percent to 1,068.56 after its biggest two-day drop in a year. The euro weakened to $1.2644.
The Australian dollar slipped 0.3 percent to 87.87 U.S. cents as the country's statistics bureau said it will revise how it reports employment data after central bank Governor Glenn Stevens yesterday described the figures, which showed a record jump in jobs last month, as "unusually volatile."
Growth in the U.S. is helping lead a worldwide acceleration that's weaker than the IMF predicted 2 1/2 months ago, the Washington-based lender said yesterday as cut its growth outlook to 3.8 percent for 2015, from 4 percent. Some financial markets may be overheating after a sustained period of near-zero rates, according to the report.
U.S. Losses
Futures are signaling a rebound after the S&P 500 dropped 1.5 percent yesterday, while the Nasdaq Composite Index slid 1.6 percent. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies lost 1.7 percent yesterday, the most since July 31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.6 percent, also the steepest one-day loss since July.
Profit at companies in the S&P 500 rose 4.9 percent in the July-September period, according to the average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. That's down from a 5.1 percent growth prediction in a survey published Sept. 26.
Alcoa, the largest aluminum producer in the U.S., reports its third-quarter results today, with results from Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. due later in the week.
Treasuries Fall
Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 2.36 percent after sliding eight basis points yesterday. Thirty-year Treasury yields added two basis points to 3.07 percent after falling eight basis points to the lowest level since May, 2013.
The Federal Open Market Committee is due to release minutes of its Sept. 16-17 meeting later today. Investors have been concerned the central bank may increase interest rates sooner than anticipated as the U.S. economy gains strength.
Forecasts for the Fed to raise key rates in mid-2015 are "reasonable" as policy makers wait for unemployment to fall further and inflation to accelerate, New York Fed President William C. Dudley said in a speech in Troy, New York.
Brent crude lost 1.3 percent to $90.95 a barrel, and earlier dropped to $90.76, the lowest price since June 2012. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1 percent to $87.98 a barrel -- a 17-month low -- after sinking 1.7 percent yesterday to $88.85.
Crude inventories probably expanded by 2 million barrels in the U.S. last week, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts before data from the Energy Information Administration due today. The EIA, the Energy Department's statistical arm, cut its price forecasts in a monthly report yesterday, citing increased output and reduced demand.
Gold climbed to $1,217.18 an ounce after rising 0.1 percent yesterday. Platinum for immediate delivery climbed 1.2 percent to $1,273.13 an ounce in a third straight day of gains.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!