Key Points:
- Stocks Extend Declines as Bond Yields, Dollar Jump
- Outlook of aggressive Fed tightening saps global shares
- 30-year US Treasury yield around the highest since 2014
Stocks extended declines on Wednesday amid a jump in Treasury yields and the dollar on expectations of aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve to tackle inflation.
Equities fell in Australia, Japan and South Korea, while US and European contracts were also in the red. The S&P 500 dipped Tuesday but held above the closely-watched 3,900 level. US-listed Chinese shares posted their worst drop since mid-July.
The 30-year US yield is around the highest level since 2014. The economic data spurred bets on another 75 basis points Fed interest-rate hike.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index hit another record. The yen slid to a fresh 24-year low. Greenback strength is rippling across the world, squeezing financial conditions and stoking inflation in other economies as rival currencies drop.
“Many investors are walking on egg shells,” Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco, said on Bloomberg Television. “The real issue is that it could be a one-two punch. We could see the Fed continuing to pummel the economy with a significant rate hike, lets say 75 basis points, and then of course we get downward revisions to earnings that are significant.”
Elsewhere, Bitcoin added to a retreat to below $19,000. Crude dropped below $87 a barrel, hampered by worries about demand.