LONDON, Oct 2 - World markets struggled to put a testing third quarter behind them on Monday, with stocks and the euro ticking lower, bonds still on edge and a last-minute deal to avert a U.S. government shutdown barely lifting Wall Street futures.
It was enough to nudge the euro back into the red for the day. It, like many of the major global currencies, had fallen over 3% in the third quarter, unable to fend off irresistible U.S. dollar strength built on ongoing Federal Reserve interest rate rises. /FRX Marginally higher oil prices and debt pressures meant benchmark European government bond yields were also edging higher again, with Germany's 10-year Bund level within striking distance of a 12-year high of 2.86% hit late last week.
Japanese stocks were also boosted by the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan survey overnight, which showed an improvement in business sentiment, although the World Bank became the latest to trim its forecast for China's economy next year.Beijing's official PMI figures on Saturday reported the first pick-up in activity in the key manufacturing sector in six months. Sunday's Caixin/S&P Global PMI survey, however, shown the pace of growth slowing again.
The finance minister has jurisdiction over currency intervention, but he declined to comment on whether it was a possibility at this point.