Article 44GW5 Wall Street suffers worst week since March as trade wars worry investors –as it happened

Wall Street suffers worst week since March as trade wars worry investors –as it happened

by
Graeme Wearden
from Economics | The Guardian on (#44GW5)

US economy only created 155,000 new jobs last month and wage growth disappoints

9.07pm GMT

And finally.... Wall Street can put a brutal week behind it, as the closing bell rings.

The Dow Jones industrial average has ended the day down 559 points, a drop of 2.2%. The S&P 500 fell 2.3%

Going into the weekend like this. pic.twitter.com/EJm8TRZKKv

8.53pm GMT

CNBC have pinned the blame for today's losses on Peter Navarro, a trade advisor to president Trump.

Navarro's told CNN earlier that Trump would "simply raise" tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods if no deal is reached during the cease-fire. Cue a sell-off....

This one chart shows the confusion the Trump administration is causing the market about trade. https://t.co/kO80a8Xnzj pic.twitter.com/2jxbs6LoPh

8.49pm GMT

It's hard to remember now, but this week began with optimism following Donald Trump's dinner date with Xi Jinping.

On Monday, investors were talking about a 'trade truce'. Now, they're looking at a 5% drop in US stocks over the week:

It took just one week for a $1 trillion wipeout in U.S. stocks https://t.co/dFVB8DxZB6 pic.twitter.com/p3zQIKcrgF

8.47pm GMT

Ernie Cecilia, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co, blames this week's market gyrations on a "repricing of growth."

Cecilia says (via Bloomberg):

The bond market is essentially saying we don't see the kind of growth that we've had. So what the market is doing is repricing stocks, particularly those that have performed extraordinarily well, to a lower growth rate.

8.33pm GMT

More details of Meng Wanzhou's bail hearing:

Meng Wanzhou's lawyer now arguing for her bail, saying she would never breach a court order because it would humiliate her father (the founder of Huawei) and the company's employees. Says she should not be punished for her wealth.

Court sketch of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in green prison sweatsuit. Her father founded the Chinese tech giant, his net worth is 3.2 billion dollars. Family's wealth is key argument in the request that her bail be denied. Lawyer says no amount of bail will be incentive to stay pic.twitter.com/a8LUmvfGa6

8.21pm GMT

The Nasdaq is now down 3%, as a late burst of selling hits the index.

Panic-like selling takes hold in Nasdaq as stock-market losses gather steam in final hour Friday https://t.co/2j3Jozb0QE

7.17pm GMT

Over in Vancouver, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou's extradition hearing is underway.

Several journalists are tweeting about the case, which has spooked markets in recent days (and a major factor behind today's falls in New York)

Huge lineup to get into BC court for #Meng hearing. Waiting for things to get started.#huawei

Crown says #Meng deceived US financial institution and exposed it to risk of being fined. #huawei #bailhearing

1/2 Canadian AG - Factors supporting opposition to Meng's release on bail: no meaningful connection to this jurisdiction, access to vast resources and connections, pattern where she has avoided the US since becoming aware of criminal investigations in that country #huawei

2/2 Canadian AG: Her ordinary settled routine of life is in China. That country does not have an extradition treaty w the US

Meng was arrested in Vancouver airport while in transit From HK on route to Mexico. #HuaweiArrest

Crux of allegation from AG: Between approx 2009 and 2014 #Huawei used an unofficial subsidiary called Skycom to track activity in Iran. Banks in the US then cleared money for Huawei. Unknown to them, they were conducting biz for skycom

AG: Meng personally reperesented that skycom and huawei were separate when in fact they were not

Due to these #Huawei violations, it violated bank internal laws and exposed banks to possible fines

7.09pm GMT

Technology stocks are being hit hard tonight, as persistent worries about trade wars ripple through Wall Street again.

Chip makers, and consumer electronics companies such as Apple, are leading the sell-off.

Another brutal week for #Apple....down 5%, now lowest since May pic.twitter.com/npXY6DajnT

7.05pm GMT

With two hours of the trading week to go, Wall Street is heading deeper into the red.

Apart from the China trade factor the US markets have been more nervous than usual over the last few sessions as investors are getting increasingly concerned that the long-term bull run in the stock markets may be nearing its end.

During the week the yields in the bond markets inverted - that is, some of the yields on longer term papers declined below the shorter term yields, a reversal of a normal situation and a signal that has in the past preceded economic downturn.

6.53pm GMT

Today's losses risk dragging the Dow Jones industrial average into a bear market:

The Dow has dropped nearly 9% since hitting an all-time high Oct. 3. If it hits -10%, it's a correction. https://t.co/zLDwiQsCM4 pic.twitter.com/rU3OuN0U1v

6.47pm GMT

Shares in US Steel are down 1.45% today, reflecting concerns over trade relations between America and China.

That's not too bad a fall...but look at the picture since Donald Trump started imposing tariffs:

US Steel is down 54% since the Tariff announcement back on March 1st. $X pic.twitter.com/31vM49VVlk

5.56pm GMT

Although today's US jobs report showed fewer new jobs than expected, and less wage growth, it wasn't a shocker.

Here's Marketwatch's take:

The jobs report threaded the needle really well," J.J. Kinahan, chief market strategist with TD Ameritrade told MarketWatch, arguing that 155,000 new jobs is neither too high nor too low for investors.

"Had the this come in really hot, the market would have interpreted it as a number that would force the Fed to raise rates not just in December, but in March too," he said. "You also didn't want to miss in a huge way on the down side, as it would have shaken faith in the economy," he said.

5.50pm GMT

Related: Oil prices recover as Opec and allies agree to cut output

5.42pm GMT

Here's a neat chart showing where jobs were created, and lost, in the US last month:

Here's where the jobs are - in one chart. https://t.co/DBEF8KdoqO pic.twitter.com/FX5zXYioC0

5.26pm GMT

David Madden of CMC Markets blames conflicting noises from White House advisors for the losses in New York today.

Markets have had a volatile few days and today is no different. The Major US indices rallied on the open, but turned lower yet again. The sharp move on Wall Street is partially driven by conflicting announcements from Washington DC. Larry Kudlow, director of the US national economic council, claimed the Federal Reserve responds to data, not President Trump. Mr Kudlow also said the US might extend the 90-day truce with China if talks don't go well.

On the other hand, Peter Navarro ,advisor to Trump ,claims the US will press ahead with new tariffs if a deal hasn't been reached after the 90 day period.

In November, 155,000 jobs were added, which was well below the 200,000 that economists were expecting. The October report was revised down to 237,000 from 250,000. The jobless rate remained unchanged at 3.7% - meeting forecasts. On a monthly basis, average earnings was 0.2%, but traders were expecting 0.3%, and the October reading was revised down to 0.1% from 0.2% The yearly average earnings reading held steady at 3.1%.

There were positive aspects to the report, but the negatives made traders less fearful about potential rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

5.07pm GMT

Back on Wall Street, the Dow is over 400 points down, or 1.6%.

5.05pm GMT

The rally weakened in the final hour, but London's stock market has still recovered some of Thursday's big fall.

The FTSE 100 has closed 1.1% higher tonight at 6,778, a gain of 74 points.

4.49pm GMT

Here's Investing.com senior analyst Barani Krishnan on the Opec deal:

"Oil traders will react positively to the OPEC deal to cut 1.2 million barrels per day...

However, the market will also be watching for any signs of cheating by OPEC and punish the cartel accordingly.

4.02pm GMT

European markets are holding onto their gains.

With 30 minutes to go, the FTSE 100 is up 1.9% at 6831, a 127-point swing upwards.

3.52pm GMT

Here's our US business editor Dominic Rushe on today's US jobs report:

America's record breaking streak of job creation appears to be slowing. The Labor Department announced the US had added 155,000 in November, well below last month's figures and economists' forecasts.

November was the 98th consecutive month of growth in hiring, the longest streak of jobs growth since records began. But the pace of hiring slowed dramatically last month. The US added 250,000 jobs in October and economists had expected 198,000 new jobs to be added this month.

Related: US jobs growth slows dramatically despite record streak

3.51pm GMT

Uh oh.... Wall Street is turning south.

3.39pm GMT

Over in Vienna, Opec has finally agreed a deal to cut oil production.

After long, tense wrangling, the oil cartel has agreed to cut its production by 800,000 barrels per day. Non-member states (such as Russia) will cut their production by an extra 400,000, taking the total reduction to 1.2 million barrels per day.

#brent Crude oil prices jump 5% as OPEC decides to cut production. Rally till 70 is likely. Recovery in crude is also supporting recovery in global stock markets.

#opecmeet #crudeoil pic.twitter.com/S3mqjjzqEs

"Negotiations were tough; thank God, we are pleased with this level of reduction in oil supply."

3.21pm GMT

Larry Kudlow, the head of Donald Trump's national economic council, has declared that America's economy is in a good spot.

Speaking on Bloomberg TV, Kudlow cited supply side growth, productivity improvements, tax cuts and deregulation, saying they could help the US economy keep growing solidly next year.

Kudlow: the Fed people seem to be saying we have strong growth but it's coming from the supply side

Kudlow thinks a December hike might be "all for quite some time" for the Fed and that's quite in line with Trump's thinking

3.04pm GMT

Marina Mensah-Afoakwah, senior economist at the CEBR, suspects that the US Federal Reserve will vote to raise interest rates later this month.

While today's figures in isolation may not give a reason for concern, the context in which they have arisen could cause some anxiety.

If the weak global outlook persists amid current trade tensions, future job growth in the US may continue to disappoint."

2.47pm GMT

The Dow is pushing higher.... now up 120 points, as New York investors recover their nerve. But will it last?...

2.40pm GMT

So far, so calm.....

Stocks mostly higher in early trading after weaker-than-expected jobs report https://t.co/aaSJKDTQda pic.twitter.com/aXwPQE2rf7

2.39pm GMT

This time yesterday, Wall Street was falling heavily as global markets were riled by the arrest of Huawei's CFO.

2.27pm GMT

Today's jobs report shows that the US economy is slowing, but not drastically, says Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics.

He's written a thorough note on November's Non-Farm Payroll....and here it is:

The slightly more modest 155,000 gain in payroll employment in November may not go down well in markets given the heightened nervousness in recent months, but this is still a solid gain that suggests economic growth is gradually slowing back towards its potential pace.

There is nothing here to suggest the economy is suffering a more sudden downturn.

2.21pm GMT

The European stock markets are all pushing higher, clawing back more of yesterday's losses.

Britain's FTSE 100 is leading the way, up almost 2%, with solid gains on Germany's DAX (0.8%) and France's CAC (+1.5%).

2.04pm GMT

Matt Weller of Faraday Investment Research says:

See my Top 3 Takeaways from today's #NFP report: pic.twitter.com/waPFOGJ2Cj

2.02pm GMT

America created tens of thousands more jobs in transportation and warehousing last month, as online shopping continued to expand.

Today's non-farm payroll report shows that:

Employment in transportation and warehousing rose by 25,000 in November

Job gains occurred in couriers and messengers (+10,000) and in warehousing and storage (+6,000). Over the year, transportation and warehousing has added 192,000 jobs.

1.53pm GMT

America's service sector created the bulk of the new jobs last month, hiring around 132,000 new workers.

Factories also expanded their workforces, with 27,000 new hires.

Lots of talk about manufacturing slowdown given GM, tariff concerns, etc. But no sign of that in jobs report: +27k manufacturing jobs in November, continuing strong run. (Slight decline in auto manufacturing jobs, though.) pic.twitter.com/Vb4VpA7Hgb

1.52pm GMT

Economics professor Justin Wolfers reckons today's jobs report will reassure the Federal Reserve that they have the situation under control.

With jobs still being created, and wages rising modestly, there's little sign that the economy is over-heating.

Payrolls growth slows a little, but to a more sustainable +155k in November. The unemployment rate remains steady at 3.7%. Revisions suggest the two previous months weren't quite as strong.

While some may be disappointed, this pace of expansion is more likely to be sustainable.

Hourly earnings rose by +0.2% this month, and are up by 3.1% over the year. That's still not enough wage pressure to seriously threaten the Fed's inflation target, but we're getting closer.

This is the sort of jobs report that manages to both calm folks at the Fed a bit -- no, we're not right on the cusp of overheating -- while also continuing the narrative of robust ongoing jobs growth that will, if it continues, keep bringing unemployment down.

1.39pm GMT

This jobs report doesn't have much cheer for US workers, although the unemployment rate remained at just 3.7%.

Bad news IS good news for the markets!

Dow futures rise to pre-market session high despite jobs report missing expectations https://t.co/aaSJKDTQda pic.twitter.com/4rrjTvPQFu

1.35pm GMT

More disappointment! US wages only grew by 0.2% month-on-month in November, dashing hopes of a 0.3% rise.

That's a blow to US families in the run-up to the festive season.

1.32pm GMT

BREAKING: The US economy created 155,000 new jobs last month, fewer than the 200,000 which Wall Street had expected.

And in another blow, October's figures was revised down to 237,000, from a first estimate of 250,000.

1.25pm GMT

Brad Bechtel, global head of FX at Jefferies, predicts that shares will fall if the US jobs report beats forecasts....and rise if it misses.

As he puts it on Bloomberg TV:

Good equals bad, and bad equals good.

1.16pm GMT

Word from the White House....

China talks are going very well!

1.12pm GMT

As City traders grab a quick sandwich before the US jobs report (oh the glamour!), here's a look at the markets.

1.08pm GMT

A reminder of how the US monthly job-creation figures have bounced around in recent months:

12.55pm GMT

The London stock exchange is holding onto most of its early gains, as City traders turn their attention across the Atlantic.

China and the US continue to have frosty relations and this has seen investors prefer to stay away than get involved in what has proven to be a volatile market for quite some time now. This reversed the hope felt earlier in the week after it was announced the US would delay tariffs on China in the aim of making progress but it is now clear that this negativity will last until the new year."

12.41pm GMT

The Bank of England is already under fire over its warning about a no-deal Brexit. But it now faces another storm.

The Bank is reportedly due to meet Calixto Ortega Sanchez, president of the Venezuelan Central Bank, and Simon Zerpa, the Venezuelan minister of finance, over the repatriation of 550 million US dollars (431 million) of gold.

The Bank is the second largest depository of gold and has been holding Venezuela's gold deposits since the 1980s.

12.07pm GMT

Although the markets are up today, fears over the global economy haven't gone away.

Royal Bank of Canada have cautioned that Chinese trade data due out on Saturday should be watched very closely, for signs that export growth have dropped.

There is compelling evidence that exports, which have surprised significantly to the upside in the last three months, have been boosted by front-loading ahead of successive tranches of tariffs.

Export growth (in yuan terms) is expected to slow to 14% year-on-year from 20% previously (or from 16% to 9% in US dollar terms).

11.20am GMT

The FTSE 250 index, which contains smaller UK-focused companies, is also recovering today.

Related: No-deal Brexit would 'devastate' UK gaming industry, says report

10.32am GMT

Paul Donovan of UBS Wealth Management believes the threat of new US tariffs on Chinese goods caused Thursday's sell-off.

But on the upside, he reckons today's non-farm payroll jobs report will show American workers are in demand.

Equity markets had a bad day on Thursday. The fear of additional US trade taxes is really not being well received, and investors seem to see the risk as rising.

Otherwise, economic data was generally pretty good. Today's US employment report is more likely to show firms struggling to find people to hire, than a lack of jobs available.

10.21am GMT

Speaking of slowing economies...new data have confirmed that the eurozone only grew by 0.2% in the last quarter.

The single currency bloc was dragged down by Germany, which contracted by 0.2%, and Italy which shrank by 0.1%.

Euro area #GDP +0.2% in Q3 2018, +1.6% compared with Q3 2017 https://t.co/1i6OErjggo pic.twitter.com/KZrSTIXZQi

10.02am GMT

Ralf Preusser, head of rates research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, says recent market instability is mainly due to concerns about the underlying global economy.

That includes the impact of the US-China trade dispute, and worries that we are approaching the end of the economic cycle (ie, heading towards a recession)

9.41am GMT

Consumer-facing firms, telecoms, tech and industrial companies are leading the rally in London:

9.27am GMT

Good news! 27bn has been wiped back onto the value of Britain's biggest companies this morning.

9.19am GMT

Britain's stock markets has now clawed back half of yesterday's slump -- while European markets are also holding onto their moderate gains.

But after such a choppy few weeks in the markets, further swings must be likely.

"A 1.6% rally in the FTSE 100 is welcome relief after yesterday's horrible session, although this only claws back some of the losses. The important point to note is the large swings in the market on a daily basis in recent weeks, which may suggest volatility could become one of the key themes in 2019.

"It would be possible to draw the conclusion that investors are overreacting to every little bit of information related to politics, economics and the markets. Ultimately it does tell you that investors are extremely nervous and confidence cannot be very high as we approach the end of the year.

9.03am GMT

Several property experts are blaming Brexit uncertainty for the slowdown in UK property prices.

Here's Mike Scott, chief property analyst at estate agent Yopa,

'This suggests that the usual Christmas slowdown in the housing market has started early this year, as people wait for the outcome of the current political turmoil before making long-term commitments, such as buying a new home.

'However, the economic fundamentals of low unemployment, low interest rates, growing wages and limited supply are all positive for house prices, and we therefore expect the market to pick up again in the new year.'

"The lowest rate of growth for six years is a reflection of how Brexit uncertainty has hit the property market for six.

"Without wanting to appear overly pessimistic, there's every chance 2019 could be 2009 all over again."People need to be preparing for that eventuality and the low level of transactions suggests they are.

8.40am GMT

OUCH! UK house prices growth has slowed to a six year low.

The Halifax has reported that the average house price declined by 1.4% in November, a substantial fall. On a quarterly basis, prices in September-November were 1.1% lower than in June-August.

"House price growth has slowed as we approach the end of the year, falling from 1.5% in October to 0.3% in November, with the average cost of a home now 224,578. While this is the lowest rate of growth in six years, it remains within our forecast range of 0% to 3% for 2018.

High employment, wage growth and historically low mortgage rates continue to make home ownership more affordable for many, though the need to raise a significant deposit still acts as something of a restraint on the market. This is largely offset by relatively limited supply of new and existing properties for sale, which continues to sustain house prices nationally."

8.33am GMT

Connor Campbell of SpreadEx says the markets are recovering today thanks to the last minute recovery on Wall Street last night.

The European markets were granted a reprieve on Friday, the Dow Jones' last minute retreat from the cliff edge on Thursday night paving the way for a greener end to the week.

Though Beijing are very much displeased with the arrest of Huawei exec Meng Wanzhou - China's media labelled her detention as 'despicable' - the fact the country nevertheless announced it was 'immediately' applying the trade truce measures agreed with the US appears to have helped reassure the markets that the relationship between the two superpowers hasn't yet reverted back to its warmongering worst.

8.31am GMT

Shares continue to climb in London, pushing the FTSE 100 index up by 80 points.

All but three members of the Footsie have jumped this morning - quite a contrast with yesterday when all but three fell.

8.11am GMT

Neil Wilson of Markets.com thinks the Brexit crisis has also hurt UK shares.

The FTSE suffered a bruising session on Thursday, declining more than three per cent to close at 6,704.05.

There is still lots of pressure on the UK. For the FTSE this is about more than trade wars and the Fed, there is a real political risk premium being factored into shares now as we approach the Brexit crunch.

8.10am GMT

European stock markets have bounced back from their lowest levels in two years, as trading gets underway across the region.

In the City, the FTSE 100 index has risen by 0.8%, or 55 points, to 6,758.

8.01am GMT

China's media are usually a good indication of how leaders in Beijing see an issue.

And today, they've savaged the US over the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, calling it a 'despicable' attempt to undermine Chinese enterprise.

State-run China Daily said the arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer appeared to be part of US efforts to contain the company, which is the world's largest telecoms equipment provider, as well as its second-largest mobile phone maker.

"One thing that is undoubtedly true and proven is the US is trying to do whatever it can to contain Huawei's expansion in the world simply because the company is the point man for China's competitive technology companies," the editorial said.

7.55am GMT

Asia-Pacific stock markets recovered after the Chinese government announced it would 'immediately' enforce measures agreed with the US under their trade war truce.

Asian shares are moderately higher as worries over U.S.-China trade friction were calmed by conciliatory comments from Beijing.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.8 percent to 21,678.68, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4 percent to 5,681.50. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3 percent to 2,075.76. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.1 percent lower to 26,133.53, while the Shanghai Composite was flat at 2,605.89. Shares also rose in India, Indonesia and Taiwan.

7.42am GMT

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

Related: 56bn wiped off FTSE 100 in biggest market fall since Brexit vote

Markets breathe a sigh of relief following an afternoon rally on Wall St that erased most of day's losses as investors grappled w/shifting indications on Sino-American trade talks & prospects for a pause in Fed tightening. 10y US yield holds around 2.90%. Oil lower ahead of Opec. pic.twitter.com/UI5RdUbW49

The wall of worry to hurdle for flipping to bullish sentiment is about as big as the Great Wall of China.

Continue reading...
External Content
Source RSS or Atom Feed
Feed Location http://feeds.theguardian.com/theguardian/business/economics/rss
Feed Title Economics | The Guardian
Feed Link https://www.theguardian.com/business/economics
Feed Copyright Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2024
Reply 0 comments