Europe's share markets spluttered and government bond yields burrowed lower on Thursday after the head of the Federal Reserve dampened taper talk and traders struggled with the rapid global rise in COVID-19 Delta variant cases.
But markets' delight after Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress he saw no need to rush the shift towards tighter post-pandemic monetary policy had not lasted long. "The market is fearing the Delta variant could take a hold of different economies so you are almost seeing that we are back to the 'bond yields lower, tech doing well' scenario," said Justin Onuekwusi, portfolio manager at Legal & General Investment Management.
He had said on Wednesday that the U.S. economy was"still a ways off" from levels the central bank wanted to see before tapering its monetary support. Government bond yields, which reflect borrowing costs and move inverse to price, dipped globally. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield slipped to 1.3257per cent, having peaked at 1.423per cent on Wednesday, while Japan's 10-year yields touched the lowest level of the year.