Stocks drop, bonds climb amid geopolitical jitters
BNN Bloomberg
Stocks dropped, while bonds joined gains in haven assets amid concern about geopolitical risks and the economic impacts of Federal Reserve policy.
Stocks dropped, while bonds joined gains in haven assets amid concern about geopolitical risks and the economic impacts of Federal Reserve policy.
Most major groups in the S&P 500 fell, with technology and financial shares leading losses. The Nasdaq 100 underperformed amid a selloff in some of its largest companies. Giant chipmaker Nvidia Corp. tumbled after its latest forecast failed to impress investors, while electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. slipped after moving toward the bottom of Consumer Reports’ newest annual auto-brand rankings. Treasury 10-year yields dropped below 2 per cent, while gold, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc climbed.
The U.S. ramped up warnings of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine, with President Joe Biden saying a “false-flag” event may be underway and a top diplomat describing Moscow as moving toward an “imminent invasion.” Russian officials said no invasion of Ukraine was underway and none was planned.
Mortgage rates in the U.S. climbed, with the average for a 30-year loan hitting 3.92 per cent -- up from 3.69 per cent last week and the highest since May 2019, according to Freddie Mac. New home construction fell for the first time in four months, while jobless claims unexpectedly climbed. U.S. companies are grappling with a historically tight labor market, low unemployment and rising wage inflation putting pressure on profit margins, strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.
Analysts have cut their profit-margin expectations for 75 per cent of industries and about half of companies in the S&P 500 for the first and second quarters, data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence show. Companies’ wherewithal to defend profitability amid mounting pricing pressures is becoming a growing issue at a time when the hottest inflation in four decades and higher borrowing costs threaten to crimp growth.
“As we enter the back end of earnings season, stock market fluctuations continue to be driven by two key themes: inflation and Russia,” said Geir Lode, head of global equities at the international business of Federated Hermes. “As the headlines continue to roll in, investors will have to carefully gauge both the inflation and security risk already priced in, as well as the reliability of any political messaging, to prevent any unnecessary knee-jerk trading.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has unveiled a new auto plan that aims to secure tariff-free access to the U.S. market.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says that countries like Canada do not need to have oil reserves as a net exporter, after the energy minister announced Canada will contribute 23.6 million barrels to help stabilize international energy markets.
The U.S. military said all six airmen aboard a KC-135 refuelling aircraft that went down in Iraq are dead. Meanwhile, the American defence secretary says Iran's new supreme leader is "likely disfigured" and a large explosion rocked an area of Iran's capital.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to release a new auto pact that he says will remove the GST on all Canadian-made automobiles and eliminate tariffs for the sale of Canadian vehicles to the United States.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying Iran should close the Strait of Hormuz and keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors as leverage. Khamenei also called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying Iran should close the Strait of Hormuz and keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors as leverage. Khamenei also called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran will keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors. Khamenei also called on Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbours will continue. His first statement since his appointment was read on state television Thursday by a news anchor.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is again heading overseas, this time to Norway to observe NATO Cold Response exercises as Canada deepens ties with Nordic countries.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says the threat level in Canada from Iran or its proxies has not changed since the war in Iran began nearly two weeks ago, while adding that threat-related activities are “likely to continue.”
Ottawa is letting an unnamed automaker import a higher quota of U.S.-made vehicles without tariffs because the company is selling and making more cars in Canada than first expected.
World shares tumbled on Monday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunging more than 5%, after oil prices spiked at nearly $120 a barrel, casting a shadow over economies heavily dependent on imports of oil and gas from the Middle East.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Sunday the date for three upcoming byelections.