Global shares fell Thursday as investors reacted to growing worries over surging U.S. debt.
France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.8 per cent to 7,849.87, while Germany’s DAX declined 0.7 per cent to 23,962.00. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.7 per cent to 8,728.84.
The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched 0.1 per cent lower while that for the S&P 500 gained nearly 0.2 per cent.
In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 0.8 per cent to finish at 36,985.87.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.2 per cent to 23,544.31, while the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.2 per cent to 3,380.19.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.5 per cent to 8,348.70. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.2 per cent to 2,593.67.
Shares skidded Wednesday on Wall Street after the U.S. government released the results for its latest auction of 20-year bonds. Such bonds help to pay government bills and the auction had to offer a yield of more than five per cent to attract enough buyers.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6 per cent for a second straight drop after breaking a six-day winning streak. The Dow lost 1.9 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite sank 1.4 per cent.
Rising yields for U.S. Treasury bonds are a canary in the coal mine, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
“The U.S. still has the biggest markets, the deepest liquidity, and the dollar’s inertia working in its favor. But even inertia can’t outrun compound interest and structural deficits forever,” he wrote.
The declining U.S. dollar also weighed on Asian regional markets, according to some analysts, because some Asian nations have significant holdings in dollars. It also affects Asian exporters, such as Japanese automakers and electronics companies, by reducing the value of their overseas earnings when they are converted into yen.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 143.04 Japanese yen from 143.68 yen. It had been trading at 150 yen levels a year ago. The euro stood unchanged at US$1.1330.
Investors remain worried over President Donald Trump’s actions, including tariff policies that directly affect Asian companies and decisions on major legislation such as a funding bill now in Congress.
“U.S. equities slumped in a ‘Sell America’ move as things turned ugly on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful tax bill.’ ” said Tan Jing Yi, analyst at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.
U.S. stocks had recently recovered most of their steep losses from earlier in the year after Trump delayed or rolled back many of his stiff tariffs. Investors are hopeful that Trump will lower his tariffs more permanently after reaching trade deals with other countries.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 55 cents to US$61.02 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 61 cents to US$64.30 a barrel.