NEW YORK: Global stocks dropped yesterday with US shares sinking over 1.5%, as concerns about a recession and the Russian-Ukranian war spurred selling.
The declines pushed US and European stocks into their biggest quarterly loss since the start of 2020, when the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic sent the global economy into a tailspin.
A spurt of selling late in the day drove the broad-based S&P 500 down 1.6% to finish at 4,530.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also shed1.6% in the session to close at 34,678.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.5% to 14,220.52.
In Europe, London stocks dipped yesterday as data showed that the UK economy rebounded slightly less than initially thought last year and ahead of a far tougher 2022 on fallout from the Ukraine war and rampant inflation. The FTSE 100 closed 0.8% lower at 7,515.68 points.
Elsewhere, Frankfurt’s DAX fell 1.3% to 14,414.75 and Paris’ CAC 40 lost 1.2% to 6,659.87.
Asian equities fell after three days of healthy gains. Adding to selling pressure was data showing signs of a further slowdown in China's manufacturing sector caused by Covid lockdowns.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 ended down 0.7% at 27,821.43. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index skidded 1.1% to 21,996.85 and the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.4% to 3,252.20.
Yesterday’s stock market gloom was emblematic of how tough March has been for equities. Even after a rally in the past week when investors celebrated signs of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, the S&P 500 is still down 5% in the first three months, its worst quarterly performance in two years.
Europe's STOXX 600 fared worse, losing 6.5% in the first quarter, also its biggest quarterly drop since the start of 2020.
The MSCI World Equity index, which dropped 1.3% yesterday, also had its worst quarter in two years, tumbling 5.7%.
“Risk assets remain vulnerable,” analysts at Australia’s ANZ Bank said. “As the US earnings season gets under way from around 11 April, many analysts are expecting a wave of earnings downgrades.” – Reuters, AFP
