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GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks inch up in erratic trading as investors remain nervous
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GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks inch up in erratic trading as investors remain nervous
Aug 6, 2024 5:02 AM

(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.

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