Opening Bell: U.S. Contracts, Europe Stocks Slide As Yields Spike; Bitcoin Slips

 | Jun 07, 2022 07:14

  • Rising yields weigh on stocks
  • Australia interest rate hike shocks
  • Oil pauses after recent rally
  • h2 Key Events/h2

    Dow Jones, S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, and Russell 2000 futures were pressured in pre-NY open trading on Tuesday by higher Treasury yields. European stocks also fell on expectations of a tightening monetary policy there.

    The bullish sentiment yesterday—on the back of easing COVID restrictions in China, reports that US President Joe Biden may roll back some Chinese tariffs, as well as better than expected services data there—which pushed Wall Street markets higher is fading amid the persistent outlook for aggressive US monetary policy.

    Gold recovered.

    h2 Global Financial Affairs/h2

    The STOXX 600 Index fell with the FTSE 100 and sterling after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote on Monday. However, the win by a simple majority of 211 Vs. 148 has weakened the position of the man who led the Conservatives to a landslide election victory in 2019. His political survival may have come down to the lack of a viable alternate leader.

    Earlier Tuesday, most Asian stocks slipped as the Reserve Bank of Australia surprised with its sharpest interest rate hike in 22 years—a 50 basis point increase to 0.85%. Moreover, policymakers indicated they would keep tightening as "is necessary" to combat rising prices.

    However, the 1.53% decline by Australia's ASX 200 was second to South Korea's KOSPI's 1.66% drop. Stocks sold off there as the 10-year yield reached over 3.5%, the highest since Apr. 24, 2014. Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) lost nearly 2% of its value.

    On Monday, US stocks closed higher after a choppy session. The NASDAQ outperformed, while the Dow Jones lagged. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) climbed after implementing a 20-for-1 stock split, though technicals indicated pressure on the stock.