By IFCMarkets
US stocks fell on Wednesday, breaking the S&P 500‘s and Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 5-day record-closing streak as falling oil prices and heightened geopolitical risks turned investors cautious. After advancing 1.4% in previous five sessions the S&P 500 closed 1.43 points lower at 2,038.25 as investors sold off utilities and energy sector stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 2.7 points to 17,612.20. Today at 14:30 CET the Continuing Claims for the week ended November 1 and Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended November 8 will be released in US. The tentative forecast for the Continuing claims is positive, while the Initial Jobless Claims number is expected to rise marginally. At 18:45 CET Fed Chair Janet Yellen will deliver welcoming remarks at FED/ECB event.
European markets closed lower on Wednesday as banking shares declined after companies agreed to pay multi-billion dollar fine to settle allegations that their traders helped rig currency markets and data from European Union’s statistics agency indicated that third-quarter output in euro zone will be lower than in the second quarter. A report from the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday warned of downside risks to its growth projections for the euro zone, and urged the European Central Bank to act if prices continue falling. Declining banking stocks dragged UK’s FTSE 100 , which fell 0.3% to 6,611.04. The British pound slumped after the Bank of England cut its forecasts for growth and inflation and signaled it is unlikely to raise interest rates until the second half of next year. The Bank of England sees British inflation falling below 1 percent in the next six months and Governor Mark Carney said markets were right to rule out an interest rate hike any time soon. The pound fell to $1.5818, from $1.5918 late on Tuesday. Separately, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report indicated economic growth is set to slow in the euro zone and in the UK over the coming months. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.1% to close at 335.09, falling from a five-week closing high reached on Tuesday.
In Asia, China’s stock markets closed higher as investors expect that a stock trading link between Shanghai and Hong Kong launching on Monday will bring new players to mainland China’s stock market. In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average ended up 0.4% at 17,197.05. Investors are betting that the planned national consumption tax increase originally expected next year will be delayed by Prime Minister Abe after he evaluates economic indicators such as July-September gross domestic product, scheduled to come out November 17.
Brent crude fell further from a four-year low, trading near $80 a barrel amid signs that OPEC remains unwilling to reduce output to stem global oversupply. West Texas Intermediate was steady in New York. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said in a public comment that talk of a price war has “no basis in reality” and they “want stable oil markets and steady prices”. Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair said today OPEC won’t cut its collective output target at this month’s meeting.
Corn advanced for a fourth day, as reports of arctic air masses moving to northern and central US this week gave rise to speculation ranchers will increase feed stocks as animals will need to use more energy to stay warm.
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