US and European stocks stumbled yesterday after big gains a day earlier amid disappointing corporate earnings, while the US dollar was set to snap a six-session rally.
Oil prices surged for a second day as data showed US crude stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week.
The yen rebounded 0.6 per cent against the dollar, halting declines against the greenback as Japan has threatened to intervene on its currency. Against a basket of currencies including the yen, the dollar fell 0.6 per cent.
MSCI’s broad gauge of global stocks fell 0.2 per cent. On Tuesday, the index climbed nearly 1.1 per cent, its best session in about a month, while the US benchmark S&P 500 had tallied its best day in about two months.
“There was no one real catalyst of any strength that really moved our market higher yesterday, so I think the movement that we’re seeing today is just a natural selloff,” said Jonathan Corpina, senior managing partner for Meridian Equity Partners in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average was falling 109.65 points, or 0.61 per cent, at 17,818.7, the S&P 500 was losing 8.85 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 2,075.54 and the Nasdaq Composite was dropping 17.51 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 4,792.37.
Disappointing profit reports from Disney and Macy’s hurt stocks, with Disney the biggest drag on the Dow and the S&P 500, and Macy’s weighing on retailers.
With first-quarter earnings season largely complete, S&P 500 companies have mostly beaten analysts’ expectations, but profits are still estimated to have fallen 5.4 per cent from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data.