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.
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