⌛ Did you miss ProPicks’ 13% gains in May? Subscribe now & catch June’s top AI-picked stocks early.Unlock Stocks

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks slip on U.S. election worry; oil prices weak

Published 2016-11-04, 11:14 a/m
© Reuters.  GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks slip on U.S. election worry; oil prices weak
XAU/USD
-
US500
-
DJI
-
WFC
-
GC
-
LCO
-
CL
-
IXIC
-
US10YT=X
-
FTEU3
-
MIWD00000PUS
-

* Wall St up slightly as investors await election

* October jobs gains close to economist expectations

* European, Asian stock markets down across the board

* Oil set for sixth straight day of declines

* Bond prices gain as oil price drop risks lower inflation (Updates to U.S. trading, changes byline, dateline; previous LONDON)

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed

NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Global equity markets slipped amid investor concerns about the outcome of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8, while oil prices remained weak on concerns about surging inventories and whether OPEC members will adhere to planned production limits.

Weaker oil prices raised concerns about low inflation, sending U.S. Treasury prices higher, while election-related worries sent the dollar down against the safe-haven Swiss franc.

A dismal outing for key Asian and European share indexes weighed down the MSCI's 47-country "All World" index .MIWD00000PUS , which was down 0.28 percent. The index hit a 4-month low, but found some support from Wall Street.

U.S. stocks treaded water in choppy trade as uncertainty about the outcome of the election on Tuesday continued to weigh on investor sentiment and data showing a strong pace of hiring in October had little impact on the market.

U.S. employers maintained a strong pace of hiring in October and boosted wages for workers, which could effectively seal the case for a December interest rate increase from the U.S. Federal Reserve. pretty strong, but it is not going to knock the election news off the headlines nor off the top of investors' minds," Sean Lynch, co-head of Global Equity Strategy at Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Investment Institute in Omaha, Nebraska.

"A good data point confirms our view that they will raise rates in December and now investors go back to focusing on the election next week and go from there."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 11.92 points, or 0.07 percent, to 17,942.59, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.41 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,093.07 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 11.71 points, or 0.23 percent, to 5,070.11.

Investors have been unnerved by signs the U.S. presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump is tightening; Clinton had until recently been thought to have a clear lead.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos polling showed Clinton, seen as the status quo candidate by markets, maintaining a narrow lead over Trump.

However, several swing states that the Republican challenger must win have shifted from favoring Clinton to toss-ups, offering Trump a possible route to victory.

European shares fell, weighed down by weaker drugmakers after two U.S. lawmakers called on federal antitrust regulators to open a probe for possible price fixing. broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 was down 0.78 percent at 1,296.44.

Oil futures were on course for their sixth straight day of falls amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran that could scupper a key supply-cut pact while a surge in U.S. crude inventories and muted demand continued to weigh. crude LCOc1 was down 0.56 percent at $46.09 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 was down 0.36 percent at $44.50.

U.S. Treasury prices gained as the lower oil prices raised concerns about low inflation, and as uncertainty about the election enhanced the appeal of lower risk assets.

Benchmark 10-year notes were up 7/32 in price to yield 1.79 percent, US10YT=RR after rising as high as 1.83 percent on the employment data.

Meanwhile, a solid U.S. jobs report that supported expectations for a December Federal Reserve interest rate hike failed to soothe nerves ahead of the election and the U.S. dollar slipped against the safe-haven Swiss franc.

The dollar was down 0.26 percent against the Swiss franc at 0.9713 franc, not far from a one-month low of 0.9691 touched Thursday. steadied, heading for its biggest weekly rise since mid-September as jitters over the election offset the solid payrolls report. gold prices XAU= were little changed at $1,302.16 an ounce.

Latest comments

Loading next article…
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.