Global Markets Move Lower as Investors Wait for Powell's Speech
By Dow Jones Newswires StaffU.S. stock futures were modestly lower across the board early in Europe following Monday's bounce, the U.S. dollar was flat and Treasury yields fell. U.S. investors return from the long weekend with a keynote speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later. Major earnings also land with JPMorgan and Wells Fargo at 7 ET, Goldman Sachs at 7.30 and Citi at 8. Ahead of that, there's BlackRock at 6 ET and Johnson & Johnson.Elsewhere, international stock markets fell, U.K. government bond yields slipped, while gold and silver held close to record highs hit on Monday.U.S. futures for the S&P 500were down 0.7% and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.5%. Futures tracking the Nasdaq fell 0.9%.Asian shares closed lower, with Japan's Nikkei weighed down by domestic political uncertainty after political party Komeito's withdrawal from the ruling coalition. That complicates the bid by Sanae Takaichi, who was recently elected as Liberal Democratic Party president, to become prime minister. The Nikkei posted its largest one-day decline since April 11, closing 2.6% lower. South Korea's Kospi closed down 0.6% as shipping stocks took a hit after Beijing added five of a South Korean shipbuilder's subsidiaries to its sanctions list. Stocks in mainland also closed down on some profit-taking and simmering trade tensions with the U.S.In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.7% shortly after the open. Big movers included Ericsson which gained as much as 13% after earnings handily beat forecasts, while France's Michelin slumped after it lowered its outlook on worsening market conditions and a sharp decline in North American sales.The U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 0.3%. Yields on U.K. 10-year government bonds fell to a one-month low after data showed further weakness in the labor market. Sterling fell to an intraday low of $1.3289 after the data from $1.3340 beforehand.The U.S. dollar was flat, with Fed Chair Powell due to speak at the National Association for Business Economics annual meeting in Philadelphia. Investors will be listening for any hints on the pace of expected interest-rate cuts after the Fed resumed lowering rates in September and as the U.S. government shutdown continues to delay the release of official data.U.S. Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year down 1.9 basis points to 4.031%, according to Tradeweb data.Gold prices held above $4,100 a troy ounce having reached yet another new record high as the U.S.-China trade spat boosts demand for safe-haven assets. In early trade, futures in New York were up 0.1% to $4,136.20 an ounce, after reaching $4,190.90 earlier in the session, while spot gold trades 2.3% higher at $4,110.34. Silver was up 0.1% to $50.51 an ounce after reaching a record of $52.50 earlier, boosted by gold's rally and a liquidity squeeze.Oil prices fell more than 1%; Brent crude and WTI were last down 1.7% to $62.26 and $58.06 a barrel, respectively.Write to Barcelona Editors at [email protected]