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Bloomberg
European stocks and US futures slumped as a resurgence in virus cases in Tokyo, Germany and the American South sharpened concern about the pace of economic recovery.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell the most in a week with losses across all major industries. Oil and copper retreated, while the dollar steadied. Austria is selling another 100-year bond, locking in historically low borrowing costs from investors who have few alternatives for debt yielding more than 0.5%.
Sentiment in markets is turning more negative on concern that the spreading virus could force policy makers to slow or reverse the pace of business re-openings. Tokyo reported 55 new infections, its highest daily tally since May 5, while Germany saw 712 new cases. The European Union is considering whether to keep a ban on Americans entering the bloc when external borders reopen.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will release an updated outlook that will probably give an even bleaker view on how economies are coping with the coronavirus outbreak.
Elsewhere, New Zealand’s dollar reversed gains after the central bank said it’s open to providing further stimulus.
While the US is expected to release jobless claims, durable goods and GDP data on Thursday, a rebalance of Russell
indexes is due on Friday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 1.5% as of 9:24 am London time and futures on the S&P 500 Index dipped 0.8%.
While Nasdaq 100 Index futures drop 0.5%, the MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.1%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.1% and the euro dipped 0.1% to $1.1293.
While the British pound declined 0.4% to $1.2475, the Japanese yen was little changed at 106.53 per dollar. New Zealand’s dollar declined 0.8% to $0.6436.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 0.70% and the yield on two-year Treasuries advanced less than one basis point to 0.19%. While Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to -0.41%, Britain’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to 0.205%. As Brent crude decreased 0.9% to $42.23 a barrel, gold strengthened 0.2% to $1,771.89 an ounce. Iron ore also advanced 1.8% to $101.19 per metric ton.