Finance News

Stocks Revisit Two-year Low As High Rates Reality Dawns

Stocks retraced to a 2-year low on Friday after fear of the potential aftermath of raising rates gripped investors. US bond sees a possibility of amassing huge losses on its weekly timeframe. Meanwhile, the dollar drowned the currency market after Japan intervened.

Stocks Fall As Rates Rise

Fed’s resolve to continuously raise rates provoked a heavy selling session on Friday. Countries like the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United States have adopted similar measures to beat global inflation. This week saw these nations boost interest rates by high points.

(MIWDOOOOOPUS) declined 12 percent on Friday, reaching its lowest since the middle of 2020. Throughout September, the index had retested several lows down to its two-year note. It slid following Jerome Powell’s speech about reining in increasing prices even if it causes pain. 

European futures lost its grip and fell flat during Asia’s session. Meanwhile, S&P struck a balance but dropped 0.1 percent in the same trading period. 

MSCI tumbled and lost 1 percent. Analysts predicted that if it does not rebound, it could break below its low in March 2020. And if that happens, it will record one of its worst trading sessions in history.

An Asia-Pacific chief investment officer working with DWS in Hong Kong said reality has dawned. Sean Taylor, furthermore, stated that a lot has changed since markets stopped believing in lower rates. Now the equity market is reacting to that. 

The increasing rate has incited an imbalance in the currency and bond markets. Other currencies are falling drastically against the USD. Traders are scared of future impacts this could have on them. 

USD Submerges Other Currencies

Thursday witnessed the Euro and Yen slump to twenty-year lows. Japan’s government saved the day as it entered the market again to bail its currency out. The intervention led to a bright turnout for it.

The Yen rebounded and hit 142.20, setting it toward a buoyant week in nearly two months. However, some analysts opined its recovery might not last. 

Several currencies fought to stay afloat against the USD. Euro descended to $0.9825, close to its $0.9807 low range. 

AUD plummeted near its low in the middle of 2020. Also, the New Zealand dollar followed suit to its June 2020 low. Sterling plunged to 7.1028 against USD, its lowest in over thirty years. 

Yuan is about to break an all-time low record as it hovers slightly above one of its lowest levels. 

Bond markets quickly turned into a bloodbath following investors showing concern for inflation. BOE turned up rates by 50 basis points on Thursday. The decision disappointed British traders who had hoped for a lower rate. 

Kwasi Kwarteng will go over some financial details on Friday. Investors believe it contains more bad news for the economy generally. 

Asia Treasury stopped trading due to a public hiatus in Japan. But its indexes declined overnight, sending a shockwave throughout its market. However, its ten-year bond yield skyrocketed to 3.71 percent, covering 20 basis points.  

Several assets continue to fall as rising interest rates make investors bearish.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *