Stocks slip lower, oil prices ease, as global growth concerns persist

Wall Street futures slipped lower Wednesday, while the dollar eased from its recent six-month highs, as investors continue to focus on weakening growth prospects in Europe and Asia while tracking bets on a near-term rate hike in the resilient U.S. economy. 

Treasury bond yields dictated much of the trading action on Tuesday, and will likely remain in focus again today, as a wave of new corporate bond sales -- which could total $37 billion this week and more than $120 billion this month -- alongside hefty government bond auctions adds further upward pressure an already volatile market.

Benchmark 10-year note yields, which hit a session high of 4.277% yesterday, were holding at 4.248% in the Asia session while 2-year paper eased to 4.947% in relatively thin trading. 

That helped the U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currency peers, slip 0.07% from its Tuesday six-month high to trade at around 104.735 in early New York dealing.

Another set of weak data from Europe overnight, in the form of industrial orders from Germany and retail sales from around the region, added to recession concerns in the world's biggest economic bloc while paring bets on a rate hike next week from the European Central Bank.

Here in the U.S., bets on a November rate hike edged modestly higher, to 42.7%, while the odds that the Federal Reserve will hold its benchmark lending rate steady at between 5.25% and 5.5% later this month in Washington were pegged at 93%.

Global oil prices were modestly softer in overnight trading, after hitting a 10-month high and closing over the $90 per barrel mark for the first time this year, following a extension of output cuts from Russia and Saudi Arabia. 

Brent crude futures for November delivery, the global pricing benchmark, were last seen 46 cents lower on the session at $89.56 per barrel while WTI contracts for October slipped 39 cents to $86.30 per barrel.

Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 are indicating a 7 point pullback while those tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were indicating a 30 point dip. The tech-focused Nasdaq was called 37 points lower.

In Europe, the region-wide Stoxx 600 extended its losing streak to a sixth consecutive session, falling 0.62% in early Frankfurt trading to 454.05 points. In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.67% on the session.

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