Stock market indexes decline again
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 67 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,664 as of 3:20 p.m.
“The market is full of uncertainty over Brexit and also over the interest rate decision by FOMC (the Federal Open Market Committee) as well as other regional concerns”, said Mark To, head of research at Hong Kong’s Wing Fung Financial Group.
ANALYST’S VIEWPOINT: “The U.S. Federal Reserve declined to lift interest rates at this month’s meeting, explicitly adding to investor fears around a potential Brexit”, said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.
With the Fed decision revealed, most investors are now focused on the other side of the Atlantic.
European shares rose after a five-day losing streak caused by jitters over next week’s British referendum on European Union membership, with a reassuring earnings update and bid talk boosting Zodiac Aerospace. Bullion, which is often perceived as a hedge against economic and financial uncertainty, has been driven by rising investor risk aversion before key central bank meetings this week.
Major U.S. stock indexes spent most of the day with gains but abruptly fell late in the session, bringing the S&P 500’s loss in the past week to 2.2 percent, in large part because of fears that a fractured European Union could critically damage an already feeble global economy. Gold and copper producer Freeport-McMoRan jumped 99 cents, or 10 percent, to $11.20.
Brent crude futures’ front-month fell 86 cents, or 1.7 per cent, to settle at $US48.97 ($A66.54) a barrel, while United States crude fell 48 cents, or 1 per cent, to settle at $US48.01.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is declining 165.01 points or 1.04 percent to 15,754.57, off a low of 15,740.16 earlier. Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, fell 65 cents to $50.70 per barrel in London.
In company news, Whole Foods fell 5 percent after the FDA cited “serious violations” at an Everett, Mass., kitchen that may have contaminated food and said the grocery chain hasn’t done enough to fix them. The bond yields, which drop as bond prices rise, are also under pressure from central banks’ ultra-loose monetary policy. The pound fell to a two-month low against the dollar, pushing gold denominated in sterling XAUGBP=R to its highest in almost three years at 909.83 pounds an ounce, up 1.9 percent.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 106.27 yen from 106.02 yen.
The dollar maintained a generally firm tone with EUR/USD dipping to 10-day lows just below the 1.1200 level, while the dollar index edged above the 95.0 level. For the protection of AP and its licensors, content may not be copied, altered or redistributed in any form. AP material published by LongIsland.com, is done so with explicit permission.