Stocks fell Tuesday and U.S. equity futures wavered amid caution over economic risks from the omicron virus strain and central bank efforts to curb high inflation. Treasuries held gains and the dollar edged up.
MSCI Inc.’s Asia-Pacific share index fell for a third session, with Chinese property and technology stocks struggling.
Treasury yields declined in U.S. hours, led by the 30-year bond. Traders are braced for the Federal Reserve to taper stimulus more quickly and signal an interest-rate liftoff in 2022, both potential economic challenges.
The Fed policy decision due Wednesday is among 20 central bank meetings this week that could stir market swings.
“Volatility will remain elevated throughout all of this week’s rate decisions from the Fed, ECB and BOE,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp., wrote in a note. “2022 is still expected to be a strong global growth story, but accelerated central bank hawkishness could be the one thing that helps deliver the first major pullback with U.S. equities.”
Crude oil extended a retreat in part on the possible obstacles to global reopening if omicron leads to wider mobility curbs. Other raw material prices also weakened, spurring declines in commodity currencies, led by the Australian dollar.
Cryptocurrencies steadied in the wake of another swoon. Bitcoin, now trading around $47,000, is down more than 30% from a November record.
On the virus front, the omicron variant dented the protection afforded by two doses of Pfizer Inc.’s and AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid vaccines as feared, researchers found, increasing the risk of infection. China reported its first omicron case.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. told its London staff to work from home if they can, and Fidelity Investments paused its voluntary return-to-office pilot program in New England. The U.S. topped 50 million cases of Covid-19.
US After Hours PRPL -8.3% falls on news its CEO is stepping down, weak guidance; AA +4.9% jumps on news it will join S&P MidCap 400
Nikkei -0.73% Hang seng -1.42% CSI -0.52% Shanghai -0.41% Shenzen -0.06%
Eur$ 1.1279 CNH 6.3703 CNY 6.3640 JPY 113.56 GBP 1.3205 CHF 0.9230 RUB 73.4764 TRY 13.9493 WTI$ 71.22 -0.10% Gold 1,787.20 +0.25% BTC 46,910 +80 ETH 3,755 -16
S&P +0.19% Nasdaq +0.09% EuroStoxx +0.25% FTSE +0.40% Dax +0.20% SMI -0.10%
Macro :
- Macron Sees Path to Solve EU’s ‘Existential’ Rule-of-Law Crisis
- Blinken Hits Out at China, Seeks to Rally U.S. Allies in Asia
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