World Indices

Stocks Fall, Bonds Rise After Stimulus Talks Ended: Markets Wrap

U.S. stocks tumbled and bonds soared after President Donald Trump said he is ending stimulus talks until after the election, just hours after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell renewed his warning that the economy will stumble without additional fiscal support.

The benchmark S&P 500 slumped 1.4% after Trump tweeted his comments late in the trading session, erasing a gain of as much as 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite indexes also turned negative. Treasuries surged and the dollar jumped against most its major peers.

Asian stocks looked set to follow U.S. equities lower after Trump said he is ending stimulus talks until after next month’s election. Treasuries gained. Futures in Japan and Australia declined and the S&P 500 fell over 1%. Treasury yields fell and the dollar jumped against most of its major peers.

Oil prices drop as Trump calls off stimulus negotiations; Asia-Pacific stocks mixed

SINGAPORE — Oil prices fell in the morning of Asian trading hours as U.S. President Donald Trump called off stimulus negotiations till after the November election.

International benchmark Brent crude futures dropped 2.06% to $41.77 per barrel while U.S. crude futures slipped 2.31% to $39.73 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific markets were mixed in Wednesday morning trade.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.5% in early trade while the Topix index shed 0.57%. 

South Korea’s Kospi also declined 0.39%. 

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia bucked the overall trend as it gained 0.12%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.26% lower.

Trump’s ‘big gamble’

Investor reaction to Trump’s move to halt stimulus talks will be watched.

The U.S. president tweeted Tuesday: “I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,”

“President Trump’s decision to halt negotiations until after the elections is a big gamble,” Rodrigo Catril, a currency strategist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a note.

“History tells us that the state of the economy is a big factor that can determine election outcomes, going into an election with a weakening economy more often than not means Presidents don’t get re-elected,” Catril said. “Of course there is a blaming game going on here and whether Trump can convince the electorate that this is not his fault, but the Democrats, it remains to be seen.”

Trump’s latest move came as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday called for continued aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus for an economic recovery he said still “has a long way to go.”

Stocks on Wall Street fell overnight following Trump’s announcement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 375.88 points lower, or 1.3%, at 27,772.76. The S&P 500 ended its trading day 1.4% lower at 3,360.95 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.6% to close at 11,154.60.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.824 after an rise from levels below 93.6.

The Japanese yen traded at 105.64 per dollar, off levels around 105 against the greenback seen last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7107 after seeing levels above $0.715 yesterday.