Stocks trampled, Nikkei tumbles past Black Monday milestone
European markets tumble 2.5%
Nikkei closes almost 13% lower, Nasdaq futures dive 5%
Circuit breakers tripped by torrent of selling
Markets see 50 bps Fed cut in Sept, maybe even earlier
Safe haven Swiss franc and yen surge
Recasts for U.S. open, adds quote in paragraph 5, updates prices throughout
By Nell Mackenzie and Wayne Cole
LONDON/SYDNEY, Aug 5 (Reuters) -Wall Street looked to follow a global stock rout with Japanese shares at one point exceeding their 1987 "Black Monday" loss, as fears of a U.S. recession sent investors fleeing from risk while wagering that rate cuts would be needed to rescue growth.
Nasdaq futures .NQcv1 fell over 4% while S&P 500 .ESc1 futures fell around 3% ahead of the U.S. open following a stock sell-off that started in Japan and spread a sea of red across European markets.
CBOE's volatility index, known as Wall Street's fear gauge, tracking market turmoil, jumped over 30 points to 53.55, the highest level since March 31, 2020.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei average .N225 closed 12.40% lower at 31,458.42, its largest one-day fall since October 1987, while the broader Topix .TOPX lost 12.48% to 2,220.91.
"There are lots of other big moves in markets but it's safe to say they wouldn't have been nearly as big if it wasn't August," said Jim Reid, global head of macro and thematic research, pointing to how thinly-traded summer markets can be roiled more easily.
The moves were grounded in reality, said Reid, pointing to the fact that the holdout dove Bank of Japan was finally in a hiking cycle for the first time in two decades, as well as to elevated tech valuations and positioning, and a soft U.S. payrolls report on Friday.
European shares fell to near six-month lows, with only a handful of stocks trading in the green.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was down about 3% at 483.17 points, its lowest since Feb. 13.
Germany's DAX .GDAXI, France's CAC 40 .FCHI, Britain's FTSE .FTSE and Spain's IBEX 35 .IBEX all fell more than 2%.
The safe-haven yen and Swiss franc surged, as crowded carry trades unravelled, sparking speculation that some investors were unloading profitable trades to get money to cover losses elsewhere. Such was the torrent of selling that circuit breakers were triggered on stock exchanges across Asia. FRX/
Treasury bonds were in demand, with U.S. 10-year yields US10YT=RR last down at 3.721%, the lowest since mid-2023.
A worryingly weak July payrolls report on Friday saw markets price in a 78% chance the Federal Reserve will not only cut rates in September, but ease by 50 basis points. Futures imply 122 basis points of cuts in the 5.25-5.5% funds rate this year, and rates of around 3.0% by the end of 2025. FEDWATCH
"Signs of emerging weakness in the U.S. economy are evident, with negative indicators from hiring, retail sales, and PMI reports," said Bruno Schneller, managing partner at Erlen Capital Management.
Schneller noted, however, that economic data like GDP and trade remained stable while the prospect of autumn U.S. rate cuts approached.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs GS.N also noted the Fed's ability to re-instil market optimism, estimating a 25% likelihood of a U.S. recession whereas JPMorgan analysts were more bearish, assigning a 50% probability to a recession.
"Now that the Fed looks to be materially behind the curve, we expect a 50 bp cut at the September meeting, followed by another 50 bp cut in November," said economist Michael Feroli.
SEEKING SAFE HARBOURS
Investors will get a read on employment in the service sector from the ISM non-manufacturing survey later on Monday and analysts are expecting a rebound to 51.0 after June's unexpected slide to 48.8.
This week has earnings from industrial bellwether Caterpillar CAT.N and media giant Walt Disney DIS.N, which will give more insight into the state of the consumer and manufacturing. Also reporting are healthcare heavyweights such as weight-loss drugmaker Eli Lilly LLY.N.
The huge drop in Treasury yields also overshadowed the U.S. dollar's usual safe-haven appeal and dragged the greenback down 0.5% =USD against a basket of other major currencies.
The dollar fell by as much as 3.28% against the Japanese yen to 141.675 JPY=EBS but had recovered to 142.675 by 1142 GMT, while the euro dived 2.3% to 156.20 yen EURJPY=EBS. The single currency rose against the dollar to $1.0952 EUR=EBS. USD/
The Swiss franc was a major beneficiary of the rush from risk, with the dollar falling around 1% and hovering at six-month lows of 0.8500 francs CHF=EBS.
"The shift in expected interest rate differentials against the U.S. has outweighed the deterioration in risk sentiment," said Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics.
"If the recession narrative takes hold in earnest, we would expect that to change, and the dollar to rebound as safe-haven demand becomes the dominant driver in currency markets."
Investors have also increased wagers other major central banks will ease more aggressively, with the European Central Bank now seen cutting by 67 basis points by Christmas.
In commodity markets, gold lost some of its safe haven appeal, down around 2.3% at $2,387 an ounce XAU=. GOL/
Oil prices eased as concerns about global energy demand offset worries about the potential impact to supply from a widening conflict in the Middle East. O/R
Brent LCOc1 fell 123 cents to $75.58 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 lost 135 cents to $72.15 per barrel.
Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
Reporting by Nell Mackenzie and Wayne Cole; Editing by Christina Fincher and Mark Potter
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
Activos relacionados
Últimas noticias
Descargo de responsabilidades: Cada una de las entidades de XM Group proporciona un servicio de solo ejecución y acceso a nuestra plataforma de trading online, permitiendo a una persona ver o usar el contenido disponible en o a través del sitio web, sin intención de cambiarlo ni ampliarlo. Dicho acceso y uso están sujetos en todo momento a: (i) Términos y Condiciones; (ii) Advertencias de riesgo; y (iii) Descargo completo de responsabilidades. Por lo tanto, dicho contenido se proporciona exclusivamente como información general. En particular, por favor tenga en cuenta que, los contenidos de nuestra plataforma de trading online no son ni solicitud ni una oferta para entrar a realizar transacciones en los mercados financieros. Operar en cualquier mercado financiero implica un nivel de riesgo significativo para su capital.
Todo el material publicado en nuestra plataforma de trading online tiene únicamente fines educativos/informativos y no contiene –y no debe considerarse que contenga– asesoramiento ni recomendaciones financieras, tributarias o de inversión, ni un registro de nuestros precios de trading, ni una oferta ni solicitud de transacción con instrumentos financieros ni promociones financieras no solicitadas.
Cualquier contenido de terceros, así como el contenido preparado por XM, como por ejemplo opiniones, noticias, investigaciones, análisis, precios, otras informaciones o enlaces a sitios de terceros que figuran en este sitio web se proporcionan “tal cual”, como comentarios generales del mercado y no constituyen un asesoramiento en materia de inversión. En la medida en que cualquier contenido se interprete como investigación de inversión, usted debe tener en cuenta y aceptar que dicho contenido no fue concebido ni elaborado de acuerdo con los requisitos legales diseñados para promover la independencia en materia de investigación de inversiones y, por tanto, se considera como una comunicación comercial en virtud de las leyes y regulaciones pertinentes. Por favor, asegúrese de haber leído y comprendido nuestro Aviso sobre investigación de inversión no independiente y advertencia de riesgo en relación con la información anterior, al que se puede acceder aquí.