Global Stocks Slip on Doubts About China-U.S. Tariff Talks
November 13 2019 - 6:35AM
Dow Jones News
By Anna Isaac and Joanne Chiu
-- Hang Seng drops 2%
-- U.S. 10-year Treasury yield falls
-- U.S. futures slip
Global stocks moved lower Wednesday after stumbling blocks
emerged in trade talks between the U.S. and China.
Major indexes across Asia fell, and ongoing political unrest in
Hong Kong drove the Hang Seng lower by 1.8%. Japan's Nikkei 225 was
down 0.9%. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.6%, while
other regional indexes also slipped. The FTSE 100 fell 0.6%, while
Germany's DAX dropped 0.8%. U.S. futures slipped, with contracts
tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.4%.
A question hanging over trade talks is whether Washington will
agree to remove existing tariffs on Chinese imports to secure an
initial deal with Beijing, rather than just lifting the threat of
further levies due December 15.
"In the short term the market's been too optimistic. The best
interpretation of the trade situation is that almost everything
that can be tariffed has been tariffed," said Christopher Mahon,
director of asset allocation research at Barings.
Ongoing trade concerns weighed on assets that are sensitive to
global growth prospects. The benchmark for world oil prices, Brent
Crude, fell 1.2% Wednesday. Shares in auto makers and parts
providers, which have been particularly exposed to trade tensions,
fell 2% on the Stoxx Europe 600.
Meanwhile havens rallied. Yields on sovereign bonds fell. The
yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury fell to 1.879%, down from 1.909%
Tuesday. Gold climbed 0.9%, and the Swiss Franc was 0.3% stronger
against the dollar.
Stocks fell in Hong Kong as unrest gripped the city, including
parts of the financial district, for a third straight weekday.
"The escalation of violence has caused some market jitters,"
said Daryl Liew, head of portfolio management at REYL
Singapore.
The Hang Seng's fall Wednesday put its losses this week to 3.9%.
Insurer AIA Group Ltd. led declines on the flagship index with a
3.2% fall. Selling financial products to mainland visitors in Hong
Kong is an important line of business for AIA. Elsewhere,
real-estate firm Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. shed 2.4%.
Mr. Liew said global shares were richly valued and uncertainties
over global growth and the trade talks could dent investors' risk
appetite.
In Europe, banks were the worst performing sector in the Stoxx
Europe 600, down 2.1%. The drop was led by Spanish banks, after the
leading socialist party, Podemos, moved toward forming a new
government coalition.
Podemos has pledged to raise taxes on banks and block
privatizing Bankia SA's, one of the country's largest lenders. Its
shares fell 4.6%. Banco Santander SA dropped 3.2%.
Markets will get an update on price growth in the U.S. on
Wednesday when the October consumer-price index is released by the
Labor Department. Later, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
gives testimony to Congress's Joint Economic Committee. Lines of
questioning for Mr. Powell might include the Fed's expected pause
on interest-rate cuts and the overall health of the U.S.
economy.
Separately, policy makers Neel Kashkari of the Minneapolis Fed
and Thomas Barkin of the Richmond Fed are also set to deliver
speeches.
Technology giant, Cisco Systems Inc., will report earnings later
Wednesday.
Write to Anna Isaac at anna.isaac@wsj.com and Joanne Chiu at
joanne.chiu@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 13, 2019 06:20 ET (11:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
FTSE 100
Index Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024