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Stocks fall again, Treasuries in demand with development concerns in focus

MSCI's international equities gauge was lower on Wednesday and safe house possessions such as Treasuries and Japan's yen remained in demand after a combined batch of financial information, while Wall Street's stock trading was choppy after Tuesday's huge selloff.

In energy markets, crude oil futures were succumbing to a. third day in a row however at a slower pace than Tuesday when both. U.S. crude and Brent both dropped more than 4%.

In U.S. Treasuries yields were lower however the carefully watched. yield curve between two-year and 10-year Treasury note yields. briefly turned positive on Wednesday, which could be a bearish. indicator for the U.S. economy.

Wall Street indexes had actually closed sharply lower on Tuesday -. registering their biggest drop given that early August - as investors. took profits in development stocks and responded to weaker than. anticipated U.S. production data. Another big element was a dive. in shares of U.S. heavyweight Nvidia whose worth sank. by a record $279 billion on Tuesday as financiers inspected their. enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.

Sell-offs that come without substantial news and are more. profit-taking oriented often peter out rapidly and discover. stability at a lower level. That's what we're seeing today,. said Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry Lane Investments, a household. financial investment workplace in New Vernon, New Jersey.

It was a quick rush to the exits, which we've seen before. especially in a market that's increased like this. Once that. takes place and there's some shake out it appears to find its level. again and begin to recover.

And Meckler kept in mind that investors have actually become used to blended. financial information. You might point to numbers that reveal a softening. and numbers that show a soft landing, he said.

This was true for Wednesday's releases and commentary from. the Federal Reserve as investors tried to assess whether the. U.S. central bank will cut rates by a quarter percentage point. or a half a portion point this month.

Wednesday's Commerce Department information showed that new orders. for U.S.-manufactured products increased more than expected in. July, boosted by defense aircraft, but demand somewhere else was. moderate with obtaining expenses high.

U.S. job openings dropped to a 3-1/2- year low in July,. recommending the labor market was slowing, leading traders to. contribute to bets that the Fed will deliver a half-a-percentage-point. reduction in rates of interest at its next conference this month.

Also on Wednesday, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael. Bostic stated the U.S. reserve bank must not keep interest rates. too expensive much longer or it risks damaging work excessive.

On Wall Street at 11:31 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial. Typical increased 49.43 points, or 0.12%, to 40,985.61, the. S&P 500 lost 2.59 points, or 0.05%, to 5,526.06 and the. Nasdaq Composite lost 18.75 points, or 0.11%, to. 17,116.87.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell. 3.94 points, or 0.48%, to 815.53 while Europe's STOXX 600. index fell 1.03%.

In foreign exchange markets, the dollar relieved against many. major currencies after the July U.S. task openings information slanted. the chances further in favor of larger U.S. rate cuts while the yen. gained from a safe house quote.

The dollar index, which determines the greenback. versus a basket of currencies consisting of the yen and the euro,. fell 0.32% at 101.37.

The euro was up 0.33% at $1.1079 while versus the. Japanese yen, the dollar deteriorated 0.82% to 144.26.

In Treasuries, the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes. fell 5.1 basis points to 3.793%, from 3.844% late on. Tuesday while the 30-year bond yield fell 4 basis. indicate 4.0898% from 4.13% late on Tuesday.

The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in. action with rate of interest expectations, fell 9.1 basis indicate. 3.7971%, from 3.888% late on Tuesday.

A closely watched part of the U.S. Treasury yield curve. determining the space in between yields on 2- and 10-year Treasury. notes, viewed as a sign of financial. expectations, was at an unfavorable 0.6 basis points.

Petroleum costs fell on pessimism about demand in the. coming months as crude manufacturers used combined signals about. supply increases.

Issues over the slow outlook in China - the world's. biggest oil importer - and the possibility of a global downturn. that would indicate lower fuel demand, have actually exacerbated the. decrease in oil prices.

U.S. crude lost 0.68% to $69.83 a barrel and Brent. fell to $73.27 per barrel, down 0.62% on the day.

Gold prices rose a little after slipping to their most affordable. level in nearly two weeks after 3 sessions of losses.

Spot gold added 0.08% to $2,494.69 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.26% to $2,483.50 an ounce.

(source: Reuters)