Global stocks mixed as markets struggle to rebound

2023-10-05 05:15

Global stocks were mixed Wednesday as investors sought to rebound following the prior session's big drop as oil...

Global stocks were mixed Wednesday as investors sought to rebound following the prior session's big drop as oil prices moved sharply lower.

The 10-year US Treasury note, which hit a 16-year peak on Tuesday, retreated following a lackluster US hiring report.

"We're entering a situation now where any negative economic data or soft economic data will likely be viewed as bullish for stocks," said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.

US finished the day higher to snap a three-day losing streak, with the tech-rich Nasdaq closing up 1.4 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 also closed higher, while European indices ended little changed and Japan's Nikkei slumped.

- 'Chill winds of worry' -

The 10-year note is a closely watched proxy for interest rates, and the recent surge comes amid fears the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates elevated for longer.

"Chill winds of worry are swirling about high interest rates settling in and there is set to be little respite from the sell-off," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.

"This fresh bout of anxiety has been prompted by new jobs data in the US indicating that vacancies unexpectedly jumped in August."

Oil prices fell sharply following weekly US petroleum inventory data that showed a surprising jump in gasoline supplies.

Crude prices recently recovered and approached $100 per barrel last week as top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia removed millions of barrels from the market.

But crude prices have eased in recent days, as markets worry over a slowing economy and interest rates remaining high for longer in the United States and Europe.

On Wednesday, an OPEC+ group of countries recommended that the oil cartel keep its current output reduction strategy unchanged.

In Asia, Tokyo and Seoul, which resumed trade after a long holiday weekend, led sharp declines on Wednesday.

Markets in mainland China were closed for a week-long holiday.

Japanese stocks were also rattled after the yen fell further against the dollar, which moved past 150 yen for the first time in the year.

Japan's top finance officials declined to comment Wednesday on whether Tokyo had intervened in currency markets to support the yen, as they did when the dollar broke past 150 yen in October 2022.

The yen has been pressured by the ultra-loose monetary policy of the Bank of Japan, which is trying to engineer sustainable economic growth after years of deflation, in contrast with the interest rate hikes made over the past year in the US and Europe.

- Key figures around 2100 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 33,129.55 points (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 4,263.75 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.4 percent at 13,236.01 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.8 percent at 7,412.45 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 15,099.92 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 6,996.73 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 4,099.85 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 2.3 percent at 30,526.88 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 17,195.84 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0506 from $1.0467