Friday, 22 November 2013 07:04
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Reuters: Speculation over the U.S. policy outlook and weaker-than-expected data from major economies sent world equities lower on Thursday and pushed the dollar past 100 yen though it fell against the euro.
The euro rebounded when the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, moved to quell growing talk that it was considering an unprecedented policy of making banks pay to deposit cash overnight in a bid to boost economic activity.
The euro had come under pressure after an unsourced report on Wednesday said the ECB may consider cutting the deposit rate into negative territory.
That shift in perceptions caused a big spike in U.S. bonds yields, boosting demand for the dollar which hit a four-month high of 100.83 yen, up 0.8 percent on the day.
It also led to a rise in German 10-year bond yields which were up 6 basis points to 1.77 percent, and encouraged equity investors to lock in some of the profits made this year from the Fed’s money-pumping policy.
MSCI’s world equity index, which tracks shares price moves in 45 countries, lost about 0.3 percent while U.S. stock index futures signaled a slight recovery could emerge when Wall Street opens.
