US stock markets ended on Friday awash in yet more red ink, with a seemingly endless stream of bad news from Europe pushing markets to what analysts said was their worst-ever Thanksgiving week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25.77 points, or 0.23 percent, in Friday’s holiday-shortened session to end the week at 11,231.78, a loss of 4.8 percent for the week.
“The latest fiscal drama out of Europe tipped the scales in the bears’ favor,” Andrea Kramer of Schaeffer’s said.
The broader S&P 500 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ also closed down.
“Today’s slide caps off the worst Thanksgiving week ever for stocks as the S&P 500 tumbled 4.7 percent,” analysts at Briefing.com said.
The week began badly, with markets tanking Monday on news that the US Congress failed to reach a deal to cut the country’s massive budget deficit and to extend stimulus measures into next year.
On Tuesday, a sharp downward revision to US growth figures to 2 percent from 2.5 percent squeezed confidence further.
However, it was events on the other side of the Atlantic that set the tone.
On Wednesday, a poor German debt auction fueled fears that Europe’s fiscal crisis was spreading to the very core of the continent.
US markets were closed on Thursday to mark the Thanksgiving holiday, but after reopening on Friday, the weeklong fall resumed.
A brief morning rally gave way amid news of a poor Italian bond auction that provided the latest twist in Europe’s long-running debt crisis.
Italy had to pay record rates to raise 10 billion euros (US$13.2 billion), sparking more share selling.
The country was forced to pay a rate of 6.5 percent on bonds due in six months and of 7.81 percent on bonds due in two years — dangerous levels that analysts say could make Italy insolvent within months.
There was more bad news from Hungary.
Moody’s on Thursday downgraded Hungary’s government bonds by a notch to “Ba1” with a negative outlook, the ratings firm said.
Another ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, downgraded Belgium’s rating.
On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 3.12 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,158.67, while the tech-rich NASDAQ fell 18.57 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,441.51.
The US bond market weakened.
The interest rate paid on 10-year US debt rose to 1.96 percent from 1.88 percent late on Wednesday.
The 30-year rate was 2.92 percent versus 2.91
Next week, attention could shift back to the US, with the release of unemployment data on Friday.
However, a stream of European bond auctions could keep Europe at center stage.
“Italy and Spain will be faced with another set of critical bond auctions over the coming week, in a very risk-averse and illiquid environment,” Barclays Capital analysts said.
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
TRENDS: The bitcoin rally sparked by US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory has slowed down, partly due to outflows from exchange-traded funds for the token Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27 percent advance that has been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks and a wave of purchases by central banks. While bullion has ticked lower since US president-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in last month’s election, its gains this year still outstrip most other commodities. Base metals have had a mixed year, while iron ore has tumbled, and lithium’s woes have deepened. The varied performances highlight the absence of a single, over-riding driver that has steered the complex’s fortunes, while also putting the spotlight
Twenty years after he was a young, struggling actor in Toronto, Thomas Lo (盧瑞麟) is now the one giving young Asian actors their big breaks. He just had to go to Hong Kong to do it. The Chinese Canadian has been the creative director of one of the territory’s biggest TV broadcasting companies for only a few years, but is already making original English-language content to reach viewers around the world. “It was a bit of a full-circle moment for me,” Lo said. “You see more Asians, but you’re still seeing the same Asians on screen, right? We’re looking for more opportunities
RSS