Once again the European indices were left playing catch-up after major movements in the US and Asian markets yesterday evening.
Rising bond yields – an issue that briefly went away at the start of the week after their February-ending surge – helped send the Dow a further 120 points lower last night, forcing it back under 31,300.
The impact was even more severe in Asia, were a volatile session finished with the Nikkei down 2% and the CSI 3% lighter.
For reference, last night saw the benchmark United States 10-Year Treasury bond yields hit 1.477% – still a way off last week’s 1.614%, one-year high, but going in the wrong direction from a market perspective.
This, in turn, has left the European markets posting similar losses. Worst hit was the FTSE, which fell 0.7% after the bell, slipping to 6,620.
The DAX was a tad better, though its hunt for record highs was dealt a blow, the German bourse slipping 0.5% to loiter uncertainly at 14,000. The CAC, meanwhile, managed to hold its head above 5,800 despite dropping 0.3%.
At the moment the Dow Jones isn’t set to double down on yesterday’s losses, but rather drift lower when trading gets underway, the futures pencilling in a 0.1% decline. If that starts to accelerate, however, we could see a return to the petrified scenes that closed out last month.
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