Trump tariff salvo batters European stocks, sparks bond rally

  • 📰 ChannelNewsAsia
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 70 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 31%
  • Publisher: 66%

South Africa News News

South Africa South Africa Latest News,South Africa South Africa Headlines

Global stocks took a beating on Friday, with investors piling into safe-haven assets but oil prices recouped some losses after U.S. President ...

LONDON: European stocks posted their biggest drop of 2019 on Friday and German bond yields hit record lows after U.S. President Donald Trump fired his latest trade war salvo at China, jolting markets and sparking a frenzied bid for safe-haven assets.

"The combination of the Fed delivering a cut but not really what the market expected or wanted has tightened financial conditions, and may be partly the reason why Trump has gone for this escalation," said Gerry Fowler, investment director at Aberdeen Standard Investments."It is not good for what was already weak business sentiment."MSCI's index of world stocks dropped 0.6per cent as Asian bourses nursed heavy losses. Japan's Nikkei fell 2.

The proposed levies triggered a stampede for safe-haven assets. Core euro zone bond yields tumbled, with German 10-year government bond yields dropping more than three basis points to an all-time low of -0.529per cent. That tracked the drop in 10-year U.S. Treasuries yields to 1.832per cent - the lowest since Nov. 8, 2016, the day Trump was elected president.Trump's move may force the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again to protect the U.S.

"In the grand scheme of things, it will become clearer and clearer that the Federal Reserve has started an easing cycle and will have no choice but to cut rates further," said Akira Takei, fund manager at Asset Management One. In currency markets, the safe-haven Japanese yen surged to a five-week high against the dollar and soared to a 2-1/2-year peak against the pound. The U.S. dollar softened a touch against a basket of currencies.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in ZA

South Africa South Africa Latest News, South Africa South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Global stocks pummeled by Trump's tariffs, safe-havens surgeGlobal stocks are set to take another beating on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would slap a 10per cent tariff on the remaining ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »