Stocks, Oil Sink on Growth Worries; Dollar Gains: Markets Wrap

Stocks, Oil Sink on Growth Worries; Dollar Gains: Markets Wrap
Andreea Papuc
·3 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Asia’s stocks fell to the lowest this year, crude oil sank and the dollar rallied as a weakening outlook for global growth jarred with Federal Reserve minutes indicating officials could start paring stimulus from later this year.

MSCI Inc.’s gauge of Asia Pacific shares dropped to the lowest since December as with stocks in Hong Kong leading the slide. Equities also dropped in Japan and China. U.S. futures steadied after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 retreated overnight. Most Fed officials agreed last month they could start slowing the pace of bond purchases later this year given the progress made toward inflation and employment goals.

A gauge of the dollar touched the highest since November 2020 amid the risk-off sentiment. Treasuries were little changed. Commodities like crude oil and iron ore slumped, highlighting demand risks from Covid-19. Commodity-linked currencies including the New Zealand and Canadian dollars dipped. A surprise rise in Australia’s employment helped its currency pare losses.

Shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. slumped to a record low in Hong Kong, while in China, Tencent Holdings Ltd. reported its slowest pace of quarterly revenue growth since early 2019 and warned investors to brace for more regulatory curbs. Separately, government-backed investors will recapitalize China Huarong Asset Management Co., ending months of speculation over whether Beijing would deem the troubled financial giant too big to fail.

The global equity rally has paused as investors take stock of the likely timeline for a reduction in the Fed’s massive bond purchases as well as the challenges for economic reopening from the fast-spreading delta variant. The Jackson Hole symposium next week, the U.S. central bank’s most prominent annual conference, may provide further clues on the stimulus outlook.

“I don’t think anybody will be surprised if tapering starts at the end of this year,” Dana D’Auria, Envestnet co-chief investment officer, said on Bloomberg Television. She added that the pace of reopenings is a concern for investors amid the spread of the delta strain.

Elsewhere, Robinhood Markets Inc. warned that a revenue surge fueled by a boom in cryptocurrency trading might not last. Its shares sank in extended trading. Bitcoin traded around $45,000.

In the latest coronavirus developments, President Joe Biden beefed up the U.S. response to the delta strain, laying out steps including vaccination boosters.

For more market analysis read our MLIV blog.

Here are some events to watch this week:

Bank Indonesia rate decision and Governor Perry Warjiyo briefing ThursdayU.S. initial jobless claims, leading index Thursday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 contracts fell 0.1% as of 11:33 a.m. on Tokyo. The S&P 500 fell 1.1%Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1%Japan’s Topix index fell 0.7%Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.5%South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.9%Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.5%China’s Shanghai Composite Index retreated 1%Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.5%

Currencies

The Japanese yen was at 110.17 per dollar, down 0.4%The offshore yuan traded at 6.4964 per dollarThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%The euro was at $1.1679, down 0.3%

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.26%Australia’s 10-year bond yield fell three basis points to 1.11%

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.8% to $64.31 a barrelGold dipped 0.4% to $1,781.43 an ounce

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting

Recommended Stories

  • Vipshop, Weibo Report Mixed Quarterly Results During China Crackdown

    Vipshop stock dropped as the China e-commerce company reported second-quarter earnings early Wednesday, as did China-based Weibo.

  • China regulator says livestreaming sales stars should speak Mandarin, dress well

    Hosts in China's livestreaming industry should speak Mandarin and dress appropriately when they market products online, the country's commerce ministry said on Wednesday, as it looks to tighten its oversight of the sector. Livestreaming marketing has seen its popularity surge in the last two years among brands like L’Oreal, Nike, Dyson and online shoppers, and most Chinese e-commerce platforms now offer the option to purchase and sell products via livestreaming. It became the target of scrutiny last year with some shoppers and brands accusing some livestreamers of misrepresenting products or faking sales numbers, prompting China's cyberspace regulator to announce draft rules in November.

  • Today’s Market Wrap Up and a Glimpse Into Thursday

    The Fed is poised to slow its bond-buying program.

  • Facebook may not lift ban on Taliban even if U.S. softens its view

    (Reuters) -Facebook may not lift its ban on the Taliban even if the United States stops imposing sanctions on the group, which has rapidly taken control of Afghanistan, the social media company's policy chief said on Wednesday. The U.S. State Department does not list the Afghan Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization like it does the Pakistani Taliban. "They will not be allowed while they are prescribed by the U.S. law and even if they were not prescribed by U.S. law, we would have to do a policy analysis on whether or not they nevertheless violate our dangerous organizations policy,” Facebook's vice president of content policy Monika Bickert said on a call with reporters about the company's latest community standards enforcement report.

  • Fed officials expect to start bond-buying taper this year, minutes show

    The bulk of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee is coalescing around a plan that would see the U.S. central bank start trimming its bond-buying program later this year, and reduce purchases of Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) "proportionally" so they end at the same time. Minutes from the Fed's July 27-28 meeting, which were released on Wednesday, showed policymakers remained somewhat at odds over how fast to taper the asset purchases, with "many" of them keen on making sure bond-buying ends before interest rate hikes may need to begin, and "several" preferring a more gradual approach. "The only thing that is now clearer than it was prior to the release of the Minutes is that the hawkish crowd that has publicly been calling for an 'early and fast' tapering does not represent the majority view," Jefferies economists Thomas Simons and Aneta Markowska said in a research note after the release of the minutes.

  • HDFC Bank Goes Abroad for Risky Bond Sale After India Clampdown

    (Bloomberg) -- India’s HDFC Bank Ltd. sold a riskier dollar bond overseas that helps bolster its balance sheet, in a move that local peers may follow after the market regulator tightened its rules in the domestic market.The country’s biggest lender by market capitalization priced Additional Tier 1 notes in the offshore market at a yield of 3.7%. Those are unsecured securities with voluntary call options but no set maturity. It’s only the second such deal abroad from an Indian lender after the St

  • WorldView: Fake COVID-19 vaccines seized in India and Africa; UK fears possible inflation

    Officials have seized fake COVID-19 vaccines in India and Africa as a second suspected Ebola infection was detected in the Ivory Coast. A court in Uganda threw out a controversial anti-pornography law. And fears are growing in the UK over possible inflation. CBS News foreign correspondent Ian Lee joins "CBSN AM" with these and other headlines from around the world.

  • Dow Jones Futures: Stock Market Sells Off As Fed Moves To Exit; Nvidia, dLocal, Robinhood Earnings Late

    Stocks tumbled into the close amid Fed hints it'll start tapering bond buys this year. Nvidia and Robinhood led earnings late.

  • Asian shares fall, dollar gains after Fed minutes

    Asian shares fell on Thursday while the dollar reached multi-month highs against peers, after minutes from the U.S. central bank's last meeting showed the increasing prospect of reduced monetary stimulus this year. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.63%, heading back towards 2021 lows set last month, with Chinese blue chips down 0.21%, Australia falling 0.54% and Hong Kong off 0.45%. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.37%.

  • Berman Tabacco Alerts Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Approaching Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuits Filed Against DiDi Global Inc. (DIDI)

    Boston, Massachusetts--(Newsfile Corp. - August 18, 2021) - Berman Tabacco, a national law firm representing investors, is investigating potential securities law violations against DiDi Global Inc. f/k/a Xiaoju Kuaizhi Inc. ("DiDi" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: DIDI) (CUSIP: 23292E108), senior management and underwriters in connection with the Company's June 2021 initial public offering ("IPO"). DiDi is a Chinese-based company that purports to be the "go-to brand in China for shared mobility" offer

  • These Are The 5 Best Stocks To Buy And Watch Now

    Buying a stock is easy, but buying the right stock without a time-tested strategy is incredibly hard. So what are the best stocks to buy now or put on a watchlist?

  • Baidu Sells $1 Billion of Bonds Amid China Tech Crackdown

    (Bloomberg) -- Baidu Inc. sold $1 billion of bonds in a two-part sustainable deal, according to people familiar with the matter, marking the first major global debt offering by a Chinese tech firm since Beijing escalated a crackdown on private enterprise.The Internet search giant, an investment-grade issuer, priced 5.5-year and 10-year notes at 83 basis points and 113 basis points, respectively, above comparable Treasuries, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they’re not auth

  • ‘We can’t rest complacently in the shield that the vaccines alone give us’: Doctor

    Dr. Sejal Hathi, Physician & Faculty, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and host of “Civic Rx” podcast, joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the latest on the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Dow, S&P 500 book worst declines in a month after Fed minutes show taper plans later this year

    U.S. stock benchmarks closed lower for a second day Wednesday, tumbling in the final minutes of trade, as investors digested minutes of the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting.

  • Broadway actor Laura Osnes says she quit show over vaccine requirement

    She said she and her husband have not gotten the shots because "there is so much that is still unknown."

  • T-Mobile is investigating a hack of 48 million people’s data. Here’s what to do if you think your data was exposed

    The breach included customers' names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and driver’s license information

  • LAWSUIT FILED: ANNOVIS BIO Sued for Securities Law Violations; Investors Should Contact Block & Leviton for More Information

    Boston, Massachusetts--(Newsfile Corp. - August 18, 2021) - Block & Leviton announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Annovis Bio Inc. (NYSE American: ANVS) and certain of its officers for securities law violations. Investors who purchased shares between May 21, 2021 and July 28, 2021 and have lost money are encouraged to contact the firm to learn more about how they might recover those losses. For more details, visit https://www.blockleviton.com/cases/anvs.What is ...

  • Cathie Wood Says Michael Burry Doesn’t Understand the Innovation Space

    The star stock picker called out Burry, known for his dead-on predictions, in a series of tweets. His hedge fund has placed bearish bets against Wood's ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund.

  • Sportradar Files Initial Documents for Planned IPO

    Sportradar has formally begun the IPO process. The Switzerland-based data firm announced Tuesday that it had filed paperwork with the SEC to start the process of going public. The company says it plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SRAD. It did not release a potential price range, nor the number of shares […]

  • Minutes highlight a Fed split over labor market, bond-buying taper

    Federal Reserve officials felt their employment benchmark for decreasing support for the economy "could be reached this year," but appeared to disagree on other key aspects of where monetary policy should turn next in the transition from the pandemic crisis, according to minutes from last month's policy meeting. The account of the July 27-28 meeting showed Fed officials largely expect that later this year they will reduce the central bank's emergency monthly purchases of $120 billion of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. But consensus on other key issues appeared elusive, including the start date and pace of the bond-buying "taper," and whether the bigger risk to the recovery is posed by inflation, ongoing joblessness, or the lurking chance that a resurgent coronavirus may throw things into reverse.