Global Stocks Fall as Oil Dips Below $20
March 30 2020 - 04:21AM
Dow Jones News
By Joanne Chiu
U.S. stock-index futures fell and global equity markets dropped,
as markets remained volatile amid the worsening coronavirus
pandemic.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 index fell about 0.7%, reversing
earlier gains and suggesting that U.S. shares could fall at the
start of the week. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, a
security that is seen as a haven, fell to 0.657%, according to
Tradeweb, from 0.744% Friday. Yields move in the opposite direction
of prices.
European equities dropped, pulling the broad Stoxx Europe 600
index down 2.1%, as a fresh decline in oil prices weighed on shares
in oil-and-gas companies.
Japan's Nikkei 225, which logged its best week in its history
last week, pulled back more than 1.5% as the yen strengthened
slightly to 107.75 to the dollar. SoftBank Group, a major index
constituent, pared some of its recent gains to fall more than 6%
after a satellite venture it had backed, OneWeb Global, filed for
bankruptcy.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 soared 7%, with gains
intensifying late in the session after the government unveiled a
130 billion Australian dollars ($80.1 billion) wage-subsidy
program.
Monetary authorities in the region also took further steps to
shore up markets and economies. China's central bank cut an
interbank interest rate, while its counterpart in New Zealand said
it would start buying corporate bonds to help companies stay
afloat. Singapore, which uses foreign-exchange rates rather than
borrowing costs as its main policy tool, also eased policy.
South Korea's Kospi Composite added 0.2% while Hong Kong's Hang
Seng Index and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China fell less
than 1%.
Monday's moves followed a Friday pullback in U.S. stocks, which
came after three days of solid gains.
"We've had the rally, and now we might have a bit more of the
reality," said Sean Taylor, chief investment officer for
Asia-Pacific at asset manager DWS.
The White House extended Sunday its social-distancing guidelines
for an additional 30 days, through the end of April. President
Trump said the peak of the death rate from the new coronavirus was
expected to hit in two weeks, predicting the U.S. would be on its
way to recovery by June 1. Coronavirus cases world-wide have topped
718,000, with more than 33,000 deaths.
Mr. Taylor at DWS said the U.S. move to extend social distancing
reflected how the focus of the pandemic had shifted from China to
the U.S. and Europe, with public-health measures bringing economic
activity to a near standstill and reducing global demand.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, pulled back more than
3.5% to $26.97 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the main U.S.
crude gauge, fell below $20 a barrel at one point, before
recovering slightly to stand 3.3% lower at $20.81 a barrel. WTI had
hit an 18-year settling low of $20.37 earlier this month.
Crude prices have plunged on worries about reduced demand and a
price war among major oil producers.
U.S. stocks last week posted their biggest weekly gain since
1938 after a roller-coaster ride, with the Dow surging 13% and the
S&P 500 climbing 10%. But both indexes sold off Friday and
remain down more than 20% in 2020. Lawmakers in the U.S. agreed to
the largest economic-relief package in U.S. history in response to
the coronavirus pandemic.
Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 30, 2020 04:06 ET (08:06 GMT)
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