- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
Stocks wilt as investors brace for US Fed tightening
US and European stocks retreated Thursday after minutes from central banks showed US policymakers ready to aggressively wind back easy-money policies while their eurozone counterparts disagreed over their own way forward.
Meanwhile, oil prices continued to slide following heavy losses on Wednesday that had been triggered by concerns about weaker demand because of economic slowdown, with Brent crude falling below $100 per barrel.
A surge of Covid cases in major consumer China has raised concerns about demand, as has the surge in prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions.
On Wall Street all three major stock indices were lower in late morning trading, with Dow dropping 0.7 percent.
In Europe, London and Frankfurt ended the day down 0.5 percent, while Paris shed 0.6 percent.
Minutes showed the Fed in March opted to raise US borrowing costs rates by a quarter percentage point, mindful of "greater near-term uncertainty associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine".
But some policymakers had favoured lifting rates even higher, by half a percentage point, to rein in decades-high inflation which is threatening to derail the economic recovery.
"Last night’s Fed minutes have recommitted the central bank to its path of tightening policy, leaving equities vulnerable in the short term after the bounce from the March lows," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
- Inflation fight -
At their own meeting last month, European Central Bank policymakers disagreed on how to respond to runaway inflation and economic uncertainty caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, minutes indicated Thursday.
"A large number of members held the view that the current high level of inflation and its persistence called for immediate further steps towards monetary policy normalisation," the minutes read.
The ECB's governing council played it safe at the March meeting, agreeing to wind down monthly bond purchases at an accelerated pace in the second quarter, while keeping the end date of the stimulus scheme flexible.
An interest rate hike would follow "some time" after the end of the bond-buying scheme, it said.
But the minutes revealed that some governors wanted to go further to combat inflation, as the war in Ukraine further pushes up prices for energy, food and raw materials.
The prospect of rates rising at a quicker pace over the coming months has added to a wave of uncertainty across trading floors.
Central banks across the world are under fierce pressure to tackle runaway inflation, which has soared further on a Ukraine-driven spike in commodities like gas, oil and wheat.
March was the first Fed hike since it slashed US rates to zero when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out two years ago.
Although current US data points to a healthy economy, commentators warn of possible hard times ahead.
"While the economy continues to grow, there is a clear lack of bullish momentum in this market at the moment," said IG's Beauchamp.
- Key figures around 1530 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.7 percent at 34,240.39 points
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,802.10
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,551.81 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP DOWN 0.5 percent at 14,078.15 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,461.68 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.7 percent at 26,888.57 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.2 percent at 21,808.98 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.4 percent at 3,236.70 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.3 percent at $98.73 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.1 percent at $94.23 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0903 from $1.0896 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3063 from $1.3069
Euro/pound: UP at 83.46 pence from 83.37 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 123.87 yen from 123.80 yen
burs-rl/cdw
O.Norris--AMWN