XM does not provide services to residents of the United States of America.

Stocks battered, oil slides as growth concerns resurface



<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks battered, oil slides as growth concerns resurface</title></head><body>

Stocks extend Wall Street selloff

Oil prices hit weakest since Dec

US data deluge keeps markets on edge

Updates at 0320 GMT

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Reuters) -Asian shares and global stock futures tumbled on Wednesday, led by a heavy decline in technology names and as worries about the global growth outlook drove investors out of risky assets, while oil prices hit multi-month lows.

Stock benchmarks in Tokyo .N225 and Taipei .TWII led the slump in Asia, each falling more than 3%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was last 1.6% lower.

September has historically been a bad month for stocks, though analysts pointed to a confluence of factors behind the rout, including tepid U.S. manufacturing data.

Wall Street closed sharply lower overnight after the U.S. returned from a holiday at the start of the week, with AI darling Nvidia NVDA.O tumbling a record $279 billion as investors reined in their enthusiasm about artificial intelligence.

"The air of portfolio de-risking as the U.S. cranked back up after the Labor Day holiday was seen across all areas within the capital markets," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

"Growth concerns were the key theme on the day, with cyclical-sensitive assets smacked and hedges laid down aggressively."

The Nvidia rout spilled into tech stocks in Asia on Wednesday, with Japanese chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T, a supplier to Nvidia, down 7%. Taiwan's TSMC 2330.TW fell more than 4%, while South Korea's SK Hynix 000660.KS slumped 6.8%.

U.S. stock futures meanwhile extended declines. S&P 500 futures ESc1 eased 0.4%, while Nasdaq futures NQc1 shed 0.56%.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1 slid 0.93% and FTSE futures FFIc1 declined 0.74%.

"(There) was plenty of blame to go around. Nvidia. Tech. Soft spots in U.S. data. China gloom," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Bank.

Recent data from China pointed to an economy that's still struggling to mount a solid recovery, raising calls for further stimulus from Beijing.

Worries over the sluggish outlook in China - the world's biggest oil importer - have in turn further exacerbated the decline in oil prices due to expectations of weakening demand. O/R

Brent crude futures LCOc1 bottomed at $73.14 a barrel on Wednesday while U.S. crude CLc1 hit a trough of $69.72, both their lowest levels since December. They had fallen nearly 5% in the previous session.

Elsewhere, stocks in Hong Kong fell in line with their regional peers with the Hang Seng Index .HSI down 0.9%.

China's CSI300 blue-chip index .CSI300 lost 0.15%, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 last traded 3.3% lower.


DATA DUMP

A slew of U.S. economic data is due this week, including figures on job openings, jobless claims and the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report out on Friday.

Given the Federal Reserve's labour market focus, Friday's release could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be regular or super-sized. FEDWATCH

"Everyone's been cheering on the idea of rate cuts, but the idea of having a rate cut isn't a great thing because it means things are worse economically than what might have been the case," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

Ahead of the releases, moves in currencies and U.S. Treasuries were less dramatic than those seen in equities, though safe-haven currencies like the dollar and the yen were buoyed by safety bids.

The yen JPY=EBS was last steady at 145.43 per dollar, while a rebound in the greenback pushed the euro EUR=EBS further away from a 13-month high. The common currency last bought $1.1053.

"I think it looks a little bit treacherous, the week ahead," said Sycamore.

The Australian dollar AUD=D3 was on the defensive, falling 0.16% to $0.67005, further pressured by weakness in commodity prices and as data on Wednesday showed Australia's economy stuck in the slow lane last quarter.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield US10YT=RR fell about one basis point to 3.8329%, while the two-year yield US2YT=RR fell slightly over two bps to 3.8630%.

In commodities, spot gold XAU= rose 0.07% to $2,494.47 an ounce. GOL/


World FX rates YTD http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn

Asian stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4


Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Sam Holmes

To read Reuters Markets and Finance news, click on https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets For the state of play of Asian stock markets please click on: 0#.INDEXA
</body></html>

Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.

All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.

Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.

Risk Warning: Your capital is at risk. Leveraged products may not be suitable for everyone. Please consider our Risk Disclosure.