{"id":108072,"date":"2021-02-26T11:07:22","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T11:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=108072"},"modified":"2021-02-26T11:07:22","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T11:07:22","slug":"stock-markets-roiled-by-global-bond-whiplash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/stock-markets-roiled-by-global-bond-whiplash\/","title":{"rendered":"Stock markets roiled by global bond whiplash"},"content":{"rendered":"
LONDON (Reuters) – Global stocks fell on Friday, with Asian shares down by the most in nine months, as a rout in global bond markets sent yields flying and spooked investors amid fears the heavy losses suffered could trigger distressed selling in other assets.<\/p> MSCI\u2019s Emerging Markets equity index suffered its biggest daily drop in nearly 10 months and was 2.7% lower, while European shares opened in the red, with the STOXX 600 down 0.7%, recovering from heavier losses earlier in the session.<\/p>\n The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 50 countries, was 0.9% lower and heading for its worst week in a month.<\/p>\n Asia saw the heaviest selling, with MSCI\u2019s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan sliding more than 3% to a one-month low, its steepest one-day percentage loss since May 2020.<\/p>\n For the week the index is down more than 5%, its worst weekly showing since March last year when the coronavirus pandemic had sparked fears of a global recession.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not the beginning of a correction in equities, more a logical consolidation as price to earnings ratios were excessive,\u201d said Francois Savary, chief investment officer at Swiss wealth manager Prime Partners.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is reassuring is that Q4 2020 earnings were good and earnings per share suprisingly good and that means down the road we should get back to growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s carnage was triggered by a whiplash in bonds.<\/p>\n The scale of the sell-off prompted Australia\u2019s central bank to launch a surprise bond buying operation to try and staunch the bleeding.<\/p>\n The European Central Bank is monitoring the recent surge in government bond borrowing costs but will not try to control the yield curve, ECB chief economist Philip Lane told a Spanish newspaper.<\/p>\n On Friday 10-year German government bond yields were down nearly 4 basis points at -0.267% and French and Austrian bonds were back in negative territory.<\/p>\n Yields on the 10-year Treasury note eased back to 1.4530% from a one-year high of 1.614% on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cBond yields could still go higher in the short term though as bond selling begets more bond selling,\u201d said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP.<\/p>\n \u201cThe longer this continues the greater the risk of a more severe correction in share markets if earnings upgrades struggle to keep up with the rise in bond yields.\u201d<\/p>\n Markets were hedging the risk of an earlier rate hike from the Federal Reserve, even though officials this week vowed any move was long in the future.<\/p>\n Fed fund futures are now almost fully priced for a rise to 0.25% by January 2023, while Eurodollars have it discounted for June 2022.<\/p>\n Even the thought of an eventual end to super-cheap money sent shivers through global stock markets, which have been regularly hitting record highs and stretching valuations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fixed income rout is shifting into a more lethal phase for risky assets,\u201d says Damien McColough, Westpac\u2019s head of rates strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rise in yields has long been mostly seen as a story of improving growth expectations, if anything padding risky assets, but the overnight move notably included a steep lift in real rates and a bringing forward of Fed lift-off expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s Nikkei shed 4%, its biggest single-day fall since April, and Chinese blue chips joined the retreat with a drop of 2.4%.<\/p>\n Overnight, the Dow fell 1.75%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.45% and the Nasdaq 3.52%, the biggest decline in almost four months for the tech-heavy index.<\/p>\n Tech darlings all suffered, with Apple Inc, Tesla Inc, Amazon.com Inc, NVIDIA Corp and Microsoft Corp the biggest drags.<\/p>\n All of that elevated the importance of U.S. personal consumption data due later on Friday, which includes one of the Fed\u2019s favoured inflation measures.<\/p>\n Core inflation is actually expected to dip to 1.4% in January, which could help calm market angst, but any upside surprise would likely accelerate the bond rout.<\/p>\n The surge in Treasury yields caused ructions in emerging markets, which feared the better returns on offer in the United States might attract funds away.<\/p>\n Currencies favoured for leveraged carry trades all suffered, including the Brazil real, Turkish lira and South African rand.<\/p>\n The flows helped nudge the U.S. dollar up more broadly, with the dollar index rising to 90.390. It also gained on the low-yielding yen, briefly reaching the highest since September at 106.42. The euro eased a touch to $1.2144.<\/p>\n The jump in yields has tarnished gold, which offers no fixed return, and dragged it down 0.1% to $1,767.81 per ounce, having earlier fallen to its lowest since June 26.<\/p>\n Oil prices dropped on a higher dollar and expectations of more supply.[O\/R]<\/p>\n U.S. crude fell 1.5% to $62.57 per barrel and Brent also lost 1.3% to $66.02.<\/p>\nEMERGING STRAINS<\/h2>\n