A negative day for equity markets
US and European equity gauges were wilting on Friday after a soft session for most Asian markets. Concurrently US Treasury prices moved higher, as the reflation trade that this week powered global stocks to record levels lost some momentum.
US markets will be shut on Monday for the Presidents’ Day break — amid worries about the fractious nature of president Donald Trump’s latest news conference is rattling risk appetite, boosting haven assets such as Bunds, gold and the yen.
In Europe the pan-European Stoxx 600 index lost 0.3% to 368.9 at midday trading, as banks see some profit-taking following their recent good run and the index’s midweek close at its best level since December 2015.
The mood was sour in Asia, with the Japan’s Topix losing 0.4% after shares in Toshiba continued to drop, with a loss of 10.5%, bringing the company’s market capitalisation nearly 25% lower for the week as problems at the group’s nuclear division continued to rattle investors.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.3% this after shares in MGM China fell 3% following the casino operator announcement underwhelming fourth-quarter results that showed mass-market revenue for the period was down 2% from the previous year.
With China’s Shanghai Composite also down 0.9% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 easing 0.2%, the FTSE Asia Pacific index, which on Thursday hit a 19-month high, fell 0.2%.
US index futures were suggesting that the S&P 500, which hit a record close of 2,349.3 on Wednesday, may dip 5 points to 2,342 when trading gets under way later in New York.
For fixed income, the US 10year Treasury yield was trading at 2.42%, while the German 10year Bund yields dropped 4bp to 0.31%, but the equivalent maturity French paper rose to 1.03% amid worries about the upcoming election in France.
This article was compiled by BOV Asset Management Limited, a member of the BOV Group. BOV Asset Management,TG Complex, Suite 2, Level 3, Brewery Str., Mriehel BKR 3000. Email: infoassetmanagement@bov.com Internet address: www.bovassetmanagement.com. BOV Asset Management is licensed by the MFSA.