Equity markets fell across the world yesterday and the dollar slipped against the safe-haven yen after immigration curbs introduced by Donald Trump stirred concerns about the impact of the US President’s policies on global trade and the economy.
Stocks fell about one per cent on Wall Street and Europe after President Trump’s executive orders on Friday to bar Syrian refugees and suspend travel to the United States from seven countries put the spotlight back on his protectionist bent.
The dollar fell against the yen as investors sought the traditional security of the Japanese currency and gold edged higher amid the heightened political uncertainty. Spot gold rose 0.73 per cent to $1,197.10 an ounce, while the dollar slipped 1.03 per cent to 113.87 yen.
The negative reaction to Mr Trump’s orders put Wall Street’s main indexes on course for their worst day in more than three months.
The CBOE Volatility index rose 16.4 per cent from multi-year lows though the index, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” only rose to a one-week high.
Investor enthusiasm over expectations of a pro-business Trump agenda, especially tax and regulatory reform, had spurred a rally on equity markets, said Rick Meckler, president of hedge fund LibertyView Capital Management LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey.
MSCI’s all-country world stock index fell 1.14 per cent, while the FTSEurofirst 300 Index of leading pan-European stocks fell 0.99 per cent. In Japan, the Nikkei fell 0.5 per cent and Australian shares slid 0.9 per cent.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 208.23 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 19,885.55. The S&P 500 lost 25.28 points, or 1.10 per cent, to 2,269.41 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 78.07 points, or 1.38 per cent, to 5,582.71.
The euro slipped to a 11-day low against the dollar after German inflation data came in slightly weaker than expected and took some pressure off the European Central Bank to wind down its stimulus program.
The euro fell 0.05 per cent to $1.0689.
US Treasuries were little changed ahead of policy meetings of the US Federal Reserve today and tomorrow and a heavy week of data that culminates with Friday’s jobs report for January.
The Benchmark 10-year US Treasury note gained 2/32 in price to yield 2.4715 per cent.
Germany’s 10-year yields dipped to 0.44 per cent after inflation hit a three-and-a-half-year high but, at 1.9 per cent on the year, slightly undershot forecasts.
Oil prices fell as news of another weekly increase in US drilling activity spread concern over rising output just as many of the world’s oil producers are trying to comply with a deal to pump less to try to prop up prices.
The number of active US oil rigs rose to the highest since November 2015 last week, according to Baker Hughes data, showing drillers are taking advantage of oil prices above $50 a barrel.
Global benchmark Brent crude oil prices were down 37 cents at $55.15 a barrel, while US crude futures traded down 59 cents at $52.58.