Global Markets Tumble as Growth Concerns and Tech Selloff Rattle Investors

Stocks, oil slide as growth worries resurface

September has historically been a bad month for stocks, though analysts pointed to a confluence of factors behind the rout, including tepid U.S. manufacturing data. Wall Street closed sharply lower overnight after the U.S. returned from a holiday at the start of the week, with AI darling Nvidia tumbling nearly 10% as investors reined in their enthusiasm about artificial intelligence. "The air of portfolio de-risking as the U.S. cranked back up after the Labor Day holiday was seen across all areas within the capital markets," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. "Growth concerns were the key theme on the day, with cyclical-sensitive assets smacked and hedges laid down aggressively." U.S. stock futures extended declines on Wednesday, with S&P 500 futures easing 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures shed 0.75%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures slumped more than 1% and FTSE futures declined 0.73%. "(There) was plenty of blame to go around. Nvidia. Tech. Soft spots in U.S. data. China gloom," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Bank. Recent data from China pointed to an economy that's still struggling to mount a solid recovery, raising calls for further stimulus from Beijing. Worries over the sluggish outlook in China - the world's biggest oil importer - have in turn further exacerbated the decline in oil prices due to expectations of weakening demand. Brent crude futures bottomed at $73.32 a barrel on Wednesday while U.S. crude hit a trough of $69.83, both their lowest levels since December. They had fallen more than 4% in the previous session. Elsewhere, stocks in Hong Kong opened lower, in line with regional peers, with the Hang Seng Index last down 0.8%. China's CSI300 blue-chip index lost 0.6%. A slew of U.S. economic data is due this week, including figures on job openings, jobless claims and the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report out on Friday. Given the Federal Reserve's labour market focus, Friday's release could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be regular or super-sized. "Everyone's been cheering on the idea of rate cuts, but the idea of having a rate cut isn't a great thing because it means things are worse economically than what might have been the case," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. Ahead of the releases, moves in currencies and U.S. Treasuries were less dramatic than those seen in equities, though safe-haven currencies like the dollar and the yen were buoyed by safety bids. The yen was last steady at 145.43 per dollar, while a rebound in the greenback pushed the euro further away from a 13-month high. The common currency last bought $1.1054. "I think it looks a little bit treacherous, the week ahead," said Sycamore. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield eased a touch and was last at 3.8348%, while the two-year yield was last at 3.8672%.

Stocks battered, oil slides as growth concerns resurface

September has historically been a bad month for stocks, though analysts pointed to a confluence of factors behind the rout, including tepid U.S. manufacturing data. Wall Street closed sharply lower overnight after the U.S. returned from a holiday at the start of the week, with AI darling Nvidia tumbling a record $279 billion as investors reined in their enthusiasm about artificial intelligence. "The air of portfolio de-risking as the U.S. cranked back up after the Labor Day holiday was seen across all areas within the capital markets," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. "Growth concerns were the key theme on the day, with cyclical-sensitive assets smacked and hedges laid down aggressively." The Nvidia rout spilled into tech stocks in Asia on Wednesday, with Japanese chip-testing equipment maker Advantest, a supplier to Nvidia, down 7%. Taiwan's TSMC fell more than 4%, while South Korea's SK Hynix slumped 6.8%. U.S. stock futures meanwhile extended declines. S&P 500 futures eased 0.4%, while Nasdaq futures shed 0.56%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures slid 0.93% and FTSE futures declined 0.74%. "(There) was plenty of blame to go around. Nvidia. Tech. Soft spots in U.S. data. China gloom," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Bank. Recent data from China pointed to an economy that's still struggling to mount a solid recovery, raising calls for further stimulus from Beijing. Worries over the sluggish outlook in China - the world's biggest oil importer - have in turn further exacerbated the decline in oil prices due to expectations of weakening demand. [O/R] Brent crude futures bottomed at $73.14 a barrel on Wednesday while U.S. crude hit a trough of $69.72, both their lowest levels since December. They had fallen nearly 5% in the previous session. Elsewhere, stocks in Hong Kong fell in line with their regional peers with the Hang Seng Index down 0.9%. China's CSI300 blue-chip index lost 0.15%, while Japan's Nikkei last traded 3.3% lower. A slew of U.S. economic data is due this week, including figures on job openings, jobless claims and the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report out on Friday. Given the Federal Reserve's labour market focus, Friday's release could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be regular or super-sized. "Everyone's been cheering on the idea of rate cuts, but the idea of having a rate cut isn't a great thing because it means things are worse economically than what might have been the case," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. Ahead of the releases, moves in currencies and U.S. Treasuries were less dramatic than those seen in equities, though safe-haven currencies like the dollar and the yen were buoyed by safety bids. The yen was last steady at 145.43 per dollar, while a rebound in the greenback pushed the euro further away from a 13-month high. The common currency last bought $1.1053. "I think it looks a little bit treacherous, the week ahead," said Sycamore. The Australian dollar was on the defensive, falling 0.16% to $0.67005, further pressured by weakness in commodity prices and as data on Wednesday showed Australia's economy stuck in the slow lane last quarter. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell about one basis point to 3.8329%, while the two-year yield fell slightly over two bps to 3.8630%.

Stocks, oil slide as growth worries resurface

SINGAPORE - Asian shares and global stock futures tumbled on Wednesday while oil prices hit multi-month lows as a sharp tech selloff on Wall Street and resurgent worries about U.S. growth drove investors out of risky assets. Japan's Nikkei led the slump in Asia, falling more than 3%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 1.6% in early trade. September has historically been a bad month for stocks, though analysts pointed to a confluence of factors behind the rout, including tepid U.S. manufacturing data. Wall Street closed sharply lower overnight after the U.S. returned from a holiday at the start of the week, with AI darling Nvidia tumbling nearly 10% as investors reined in their enthusiasm about artificial intelligence. "The air of portfolio de-risking as the U.S. cranked back up after the Labor Day holiday was seen across all areas within the capital markets," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. "Growth concerns were the key theme on the day, with cyclical-sensitive assets smacked and hedges laid down aggressively." U.S. stock futures extended declines on Wednesday, with S&P 500 futures easing 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures shed 0.75%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures slumped more than 1% and FTSE futures declined 0.73%. "(There) was plenty of blame to go around. Nvidia. Tech. Soft spots in U.S. data. China gloom," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Bank. Recent data from China pointed to an economy that's still struggling to mount a solid recovery, raising calls for further stimulus from Beijing. Worries over the sluggish outlook in China - the world's biggest oil importer - have in turn further exacerbated the decline in oil prices due to expectations of weakening demand. Brent crude futures bottomed at $73.32 a barrel on Wednesday while U.S. crude hit a trough of $69.83, both their lowest levels since December. They had fallen more than 4% in the previous session. Elsewhere, stocks in Hong Kong opened lower, in line with regional peers, with the Hang Seng Index last down 0.8%. China's CSI300 blue-chip index lost 0.6%. DATA DUMP A slew of U.S. economic data is due this week, including figures on job openings, jobless claims and the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report out on Friday. Given the Federal Reserve's labour market focus, Friday's release could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be regular or super-sized. "Everyone's been cheering on the idea of rate cuts, but the idea of having a rate cut isn't a great thing because it means things are worse economically than what might have been the case," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. Ahead of the releases, moves in currencies and U.S. Treasuries were less dramatic than those seen in equities, though safe-haven currencies like the dollar and the yen were buoyed by safety bids. The yen was last steady at 145.43 per dollar, while a rebound in the greenback pushed the euro further away from a 13-month high. The common currency last bought $1.1054. Sterling fell 0.08% to $1.3105. "I think it looks a little bit treacherous, the week ahead," said Sycamore. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield eased a touch and was last at 3.8348%, while the two-year yield was last at 3.8672%. In commodities, spot gold rose 0.04% to $2,493.85 an ounce. (Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Stocks hammered by renewed growth concerns, Nvidia's selloff

September has historically been a bad month for stocks, though analysts pointed to a confluence of factors behind the rout, including tepid U.S. manufacturing data. "Volatility obviously is picking up," said Jason Teh, chief investment officer at Vertium Asset Management. "We had a first taste of it at the beginning of August...last night we had this macro catalyst (and) the market's worried about further economic slowdown." Wall Street closed sharply lower on Tuesday after the U.S. returned from a holiday at the start of the week, with AI darling Nvidia tumbling a record $279 billion as investors reined in their enthusiasm about artificial intelligence. The rout spilled into tech stocks in Asia on Wednesday, with Japanese chip-testing equipment maker Advantest, a supplier to Nvidia, down 7%. Taiwan's TSMC fell more than 5%, while South Korea's SK Hynix slumped 7.7%. U.S. stock futures meanwhile extended declines. S&P 500 futures eased 0.55%, while Nasdaq futures shed 0.74%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures slid more than 1% and FTSE futures declined 0.75%. "(There) was plenty of blame to go around. Nvidia. Tech. Soft spots in U.S. data. China gloom," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Bank. Recent data from China pointed to an economy that's still struggling to mount a solid recovery, raising calls for further stimulus from Beijing. Concerns over the sluggish outlook in China - the world's biggest oil importer- and worries over a global slowdown have in turn further exacerbated the decline in oil prices due to expectations of weakening demand. [O/R] Brent crude futures bottomed at $73.14 a barrel on Wednesday while U.S. crude hit a trough of $69.72, both their lowest levels since December. They had fallen nearly 5% in the previous session. Elsewhere, stocks in Hong Kong fell in line with their regional peers with the Hang Seng Index down 1.2%. China's CSI300 blue-chip index lost 0.4%, while Japan's Nikkei last traded 3.86% lower. A slew of U.S. economic data is due this week, including figures on job openings, jobless claims and the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report out on Friday. Given the Federal Reserve's labour market focus, Friday's release could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be regular or super-sized. "We reckon U.S. growth fears are overplayed and expect a strong payrolls report on Friday," said Alex Loo, FX and macro strategist at TD Securities. Economists polled by Reuters expect the U.S. economy to have added 160,000 jobs in August, a rebound from July's 114,000 increase. Ahead of the releases, moves in currencies and U.S. Treasuries were less dramatic than those seen in equities, though safe-haven currencies like the dollar and the yen were buoyed by safety bids. The yen was last 0.2% higher at 145.15 per dollar, while a rebound in the greenback pushed the euro further away from a 13-month high. The common currency last bought $1.1057. The Australian dollar was on the defensive, falling 0.12% to $0.67035, further pressured by weakness in commodity prices and as data on Wednesday showed Australia's economy stuck in the slow lane last quarter. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell nearly two basis points to 3.8253%, while the two-year yield fell more than three bps to 3.8528%. (Reporting by Rae Wee and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Stocks hammered by renewed growth concerns, Nvidia's selloff

SINGAPORE - Asian shares and global stock futures tumbled on Wednesday, led by a heavy decline in technology names and as worries about the global growth outlook drove investors out of risky assets, while oil prices hit multi-month lows. Stock benchmarks in Tokyo and Taipei led the slump in Asia, each falling more than 3%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last 1.8% lower. September has historically been a bad month for stocks, though analysts pointed to a confluence of factors behind the rout, including tepid U.S. manufacturing data. "Volatility obviously is picking up," said Jason Teh, chief investment officer at Vertium Asset Management. "We had a first taste of it at the beginning of August...last night we had this macro catalyst (and) the market's worried about further economic slowdown." Wall Street closed sharply lower on Tuesday after the U.S. returned from a holiday at the start of the week, with AI darling Nvidia tumbling a record $279 billion as investors reined in their enthusiasm about artificial intelligence. The rout spilled into tech stocks in Asia on Wednesday, with Japanese chip-testing equipment maker Advantest, a supplier to Nvidia, down 7%. Taiwan's TSMC fell more than 5%, while South Korea's SK Hynix slumped 7.7%. U.S. stock futures meanwhile extended declines. S&P 500 futures eased 0.55%, while Nasdaq futures shed 0.74%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures slid more than 1% and FTSE futures declined 0.75%. "(There) was plenty of blame to go around. Nvidia. Tech. Soft spots in U.S. data. China gloom," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Bank. Recent data from China pointed to an economy that's still struggling to mount a solid recovery, raising calls for further stimulus from Beijing. Concerns over the sluggish outlook in China - the world's biggest oil importer- and worries over a global slowdown have in turn further exacerbated the decline in oil prices due to expectations of weakening demand. Brent crude futures bottomed at $73.14 a barrel on Wednesday while U.S. crude hit a trough of $69.72, both their lowest levels since December. They had fallen nearly 5% in the previous session. Elsewhere, stocks in Hong Kong fell in line with their regional peers with the Hang Seng Index down 1.2%. China's CSI300 blue-chip index lost 0.4%, while Japan's Nikkei last traded 3.86% lower. DATA DUMP A slew of U.S. economic data is due this week, including figures on job openings, jobless claims and the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report out on Friday. Given the Federal Reserve's labour market focus, Friday's release could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be regular or super-sized. "We reckon U.S. growth fears are overplayed and expect a strong payrolls report on Friday," said Alex Loo, FX and macro strategist at TD Securities. Economists polled by Reuters expect the U.S. economy to have added 160,000 jobs in August, a rebound from July's 114,000 increase. Ahead of the releases, moves in currencies and U.S. Treasuries were less dramatic than those seen in equities, though safe-haven currencies like the dollar and the yen were buoyed by safety bids. The yen was last 0.2% higher at 145.15 per dollar, while a rebound in the greenback pushed the euro further away from a 13-month high. The common currency last bought $1.1057. The Australian dollar was on the defensive, falling 0.12% to $0.67035, further pressured by weakness in commodity prices and as data on Wednesday showed Australia's economy stuck in the slow lane last quarter. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell nearly two basis points to 3.8253%, while the two-year yield fell more than three bps to 3.8528%. In commodities, spot gold rose 0.11% to $2,495.66 an ounce. (Reporting by Rae Wee and Tom Westbrook; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Stocks stumble as growth worries resurface, tech shine dims

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian shares and global stock futures fell on Wednesday in the wake of a tech selloff, while the dollar and yen rose on safety bids and U.S. Treasury yields edged lower as investors fretted over the outlook for the world's largest economy. Oil prices struggled near their lowest level in months, on signs of a deal to resolve a dispute that has halted Libyan crude production and exports. [O/R] Brent crude futures were last 0.05% lower at $73.71 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures dipped 0.13% to $70.25 per barrel, after both fell to their weakest since December in the previous session. Wall Street closed sharply lower overnight after the U.S. returned from a holiday at the start of the week, with AI darling Nvidia tumbling nearly 10% as investors softened their optimism about artificial intelligence. That set up for a negative lead in Asia, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan falling 0.44% in early trade, while U.S. stock futures extended their decline. September has historically being a bad month for stocks, though analysts pointed to a confluence of factors, including tepid U.S. manufacturing data, behind the latest market rout. "September got off to a lively start and the air of portfolio de-risking as the U.S. cranked back up after the Labor Day holiday was seen across all areas within the capital markets," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. "Growth concerns were the key theme on the day, with cyclical-sensitive assets smacked and hedges laid down aggressively." A slew of U.S. economic data is due throughout the week, including figures on job openings, jobless claims and the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report out on Friday. Given the Federal Reserve's focus on the health of the U.S. labour market, Friday's release could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be regular or super-sized. Safe-haven currencies like the dollar and the yen meanwhile rose on safety bids, with the Japanese currency last a touch higher at 145.36 per dollar. The euro retreated further from a 13-month high and was little changed at $1.1048, while sterling fell 0.04% to $1.311.