(Updates throughout, adds comment; refreshes prices at 1140
GMT)
By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose in jittery
trading on Tuesday, as the uncertainty generated by the previous
day's aggressive selloff weighed on investor sentiment, even
though central bank officials said all the right things to
soothe nerves.
The Nikkei's 10% rebound in Tokyo overnight
delivered an initial sense of relief after the index's 12.4%
drop on Monday - its biggest daily sell-off since the 1987 Black
Monday crash.
European markets see-sawed, with the pan-regional STOXX 600
bouncing between a daily loss of 0.4% and a gain of 1%,
while U.S. stock futures remained volatile.
S&P 500 futures rose 1%, having veered towards the
0-level earlier, while Nasdaq futures were up 1.2%.
The S&P 500 lost 3% on Monday, while the Nasdaq
slumped 3.43%, extending a recent sell-off as fears of a
possible U.S. recession spooked global markets.
Yields on 10-year Treasury notes were back at
3.84%, having been as low as 3.667% at one stage.
"If you wake up in the morning to discover that Japan is
down 10-12%, it's going to scare the daylights out of the sanest
person in the world, so it's understandable that people take
flight," IG chief market strategist Chris Beauchamp said.
"On the flipside, I think people got a bit carried away
yesterday and it always seems very dramatic at the time," he
said. "It's normal to see weakness this time of year. The
question is - was that enough to reset markets or is there going
to be more?"
Federal Reserve officials sought to reassure markets, with
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly saying it was "extremely
important" to prevent the labor market tipping into a downturn.
Daly said her mind was open to cutting interest rates as
necessary and policy needed to be proactive.
UNWINDING THE UNWINDING
The dollar fended off a mid-morning bout of selling to rise
0.7% against the Japanese yen to 145.255, having
touched a session low of 143.63 earlier on. It dropped 1.5% on
Monday to as deep as 141.675.
The yen has shot higher in recent sessions as investors were
squeezed out of carry trades, where they borrowed yen at low
rates to buy higher yielding assets. Analysts believe this
unwind may not yet be complete.
"The yen has steadied, having pulled back from the highs
made yesterday. And perhaps that is an indication that we've
seen the worst of the carry trade unwind. Time will tell," Trade
Nation senior market analyst David Morrison said.
The dollar also rose against the safe-haven Swiss franc, up
0.4% at 0.8553 francs, while sterling, which
often benefits from investor risk appetite, fell 0.6% to $1.269.
Treasury yields rose, partly in reaction to a rebound in the
U.S. ISM services index to 51.4 for July, but in line with the
shift across other markets on Tuesday. Benchmark 10-year notes
were up 7.5 basis points to yield 3.8578%.
Market expectations the Fed would cut rates by 50 basis
points at its September meeting remained intact, with futures
implying a 85% chance of such a move.
The market has around 100 basis points of easing priced in
for this year, and a similar amount for 2025.
In precious metals, gold rose 0.2%, holding in positive
territory after a 1.5% decline the day before. It was last at
$2,412 an ounce.
Oil prices were volatile as well. Concern about conflict in
the Middle East potentially widening, which would normally boost
the price, was partly offset by worries about the excessive
volatility across the broader market.
Brent crude futures were last flat at $76.63 a
barrel, having hit a seven-month low of $75.05 the day before.