Showing posts with label stock markets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stock markets. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 03, 2026

Global Markets Tumble After U.S. Warns War Could Last Weeks

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Oil and gas prices surged and stock markets fell, after U.S. and Israeli officials signaled that strikes on Iran would intensify. As the conflict widened, Israel’s military stepped up operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fired rockets into Israel.

Global stock markets tumbled on Tuesday and the price of oil surged, as the widening conflict in the Middle East sent a shudder through the world economy and American and Israeli officials signaled that their bombing campaign against Iran could last weeks.

President Trump was set to meet with Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany in Washington on Tuesday morning, the president’s first meeting with a foreign leader since the war began, and the two were expected to speak with reporters. The meeting was long planned, but is likely to be dominated by discussions of the attacks on Iran, which continued for a fourth day.

With Iran retaliating for the killing of its supreme leader, the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned of imminent drone and rocket attacks in Dhahran, the eastern city that is home to Saudi Aramco, the government-controlled oil producer, threatening to put more pressure on global oil supplies. The embassy itself was hit by a drone attack early Tuesday, a day after a drone struck the U.S. embassy in Kuwait, prompting the United States to announce that it was closing both facilities.

Fighting escalated between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said that it was carrying out additional strikes in Iran, and had targeted weapons storage facilities in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, as Hezbollah said it had fired attack drones at Israel. Israel’s advance in southern Lebanon prompted fears that it could be weighing a wider ground assault similar to the one it launched during its yearlong war with Hezbollah that ended in late 2024. Iran Live Updates » | Aaron Boxerman, Helene Cooper and Yan Zhuang | Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Sunday, March 01, 2026

Oil Price Expected to Surge after Iran Strikes and Strait of Hormuz Closure

THE GUARDIAN: Stock markets around the world could tumble on Monday and motorists are likely to pay more at the pump

The price of oil is expected to soar on Monday as the US-Israel war on Iran and the effective closure of the crucial strait of Hormuz rattles investors despite major producers’ pledges to increase its output.

US crude is on track to rise by 11% when trading resumes, according to data from the broker IG. The jump comes as Opec+, the cartel of oil producers, agreed on Sunday to step up its output by more than expected as it assessed the impact of the conflict.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reportedly told ships on Saturday that passage through the strait of Hormuz was prohibited, in effect shutting the key choke point and prompting the halt of some oil shipments.

About $500bn (£372bn) of energy trade and 20% of global oil supplies pass through the strait each year. Vessels also carry chemicals and fertilisers, meaning disruption could affect agriculture and global food prices. » | Graeme Wearden and Mark Sweney | Sunday, March 1, 2026

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Monday, February 03, 2025

UK and European Stock Markets Tumble amid ‘Trump Tariff Tantrum’

THE GUARDIAN: US president has rattled investors by targeting China, Canada and Mexico, triggering fears of a trade war

Stock markets in the UK and Europe have suffered heavy falls after Donald Trump announced a number of tariffs, prompting fears of a global trade war.

The US president rattled investors by signing off on tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico over the weekend, triggering what was quickly described as a “Trump tariff tantrum”.

Stocks fell in Asia on Monday morning, followed by markets in Europe. The FTSE 100 share index shed 106 points to hit 8,570 points, falling back from last Friday’s record high.

Germany’s DAX index fell by nearly 2%, while France’s CAC 40 was down by 1.7%. Spain’s IBEX dropped 1% and Italy’s FTSE MIB lost 1.2%. » | Graeme Wearden and agencies | Monday, February 3, 2025

Trump Has Evening Meltdown as Markets Crash

Feb 3, 2025 | MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s late night psychotic meltdown as he destroys the USA and unites the world against the USA.


The opinions of the Lunatic-in-Chief! – © Mark Alexander

Tuesday, August 06, 2024

Global Markets Jittery After Sharp Share Price Falls

BBC: Stock markets in Europe remained unsettled on Tuesday despite a rebound in Japan which almost reversed record falls at the start of the week.

London's FTSE 100, along with stock markets in Paris and Frankfurt, opened higher but soon slid back.

Overnight, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index jumped by 10.23%, or 3,217 points in its biggest one day gain in points, after the previous day's plummet.

Focus has now shifted to US stock markets, which open in a few hours, after a couple of days of torrid trading. » | João da Silva and Dearbail Jordan, Business reporters, BBC News | Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Monday, August 05, 2024

Shares in New York and London Tumble On Fears of US Recession

THE GUARDIAN: FTSE 100 on track for its lowest close since April and Japan’s Nikkei suffers biggest fall since crash of 1987

Shares on Wall Street and in London have fallen heavily amid a global stock market rout triggered by fears of a recession in the US.

The tech-focused Nasdaq index dropped by 6% as trading in New York opened on Monday, while the broader S&P 500 index fell by 4.2% in a sell-off triggered by weak US jobs data. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 1,100 points, a 2.8% decline.

Japan’s benchmark stock index, the Nikkei 225, suffered its biggest decline for nearly four decades. It was down by 12%, the biggest single-day fall since the Black Monday crash of 1987. Other stock indices around the world were lower as investors dumped riskier assets. South Korea’s Kospi fell by 9%, Germany’s Dax was down 2%, and share indices in Australia, Hong Kong and China also fell heavily. » | Jasper Jolly and Graeme Wearden | Monday, August 5, 2024

Advice: When the Stock Market Drops, Stay Calm and Do Nothing: There is no reason to think that you can predict what will happen in the markets in the next few hours or in the near future. It’s better not to try. »

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plunge, mirroring global markets.: The precipitous falls show that digital currencies remain vulnerable to the same broader economic forces that affect technology stocks and risky investments. »

Global Markets Jolted by Signs of U.S. Economy Slowing

THE NEW YORK TIMES: U.S. stocks fell sharply, after markets recorded heavy declines in Asia and Europe.

A wave of panic rippled through financial markets on Monday, with stocks falling sharply in the United States and around the world as investors zeroed in on signs of a slowing American economy.

Monday’s drop extended a sell-off that had begun last week, after the U.S. jobs report on Friday that showed significantly slower hiring, with unemployment rising to its highest level in nearly three years. This deepened fears that the world’s largest economy could be sliding into a recession and that the Federal Reserve may have waited too long to cut interest rates.

The drop was exacerbated by other factors — concerns that technology stocks had run up too far too fast, and that a suddenly strengthening yen would hurt the prospects of Japanese companies and some global traders — both hit markets too. » | The New York Times | Monday, August 5, 2024

Global Stock Markets Sink On US Economy Fears

BBC: Stock markets across Europe and Asia tumbled on Monday, spooked by fears that the US economy is heading for a slowdown.

In London, the FTSE 100 index opened 2.3% lower while the Euronext 100 tumbled by 3.5%.

They followed sharp falls across Asia with Japan's Nikkei 225 dropping 12.4% or 4,451 points in the biggest fall by points in history.

It follows weak jobs data in the US on Friday which sparked concerns about the world's largest economy.

Meanwhile, the yen has been strengthening against the US dollar since the Bank of Japan raised interest rates last week, making stocks in Tokyo more expensive for foreign investors.

Stock markets in Taiwan, South Korea, India, Australia, Hong Kong and Shanghai all tumbled. » | João da Silva, Business reporter | Monday, August 5, 2024

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Markets Around the World Are Jolted by Fears of Slowing U.S. Growth: A rout that began in Asia continued in Europe, and U.S. stocks are set to fall. Japan’s benchmark index logged its worst single-day point decline. »

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Stock Markets Tumble amid Jitters over Tech Companies’ Growth

THE GUARDIAN: Losses in Europe and Asia are driven by AI-related groups including Nvidia, Tesla and Google-owner Alphabet

Stock markets in Europe and Asia took a tumble on Thursday, as jitters over the future growth of major tech companies sparked a global sell-off.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 1.3% to its lowest level since May this year, having been hit by a 2.75% decline in the Dutch chipmaker ASML, a 5.5% drop in Germany’s Infineon Technologies, and a 12.8% fall in Switzerland’s semiconductor company STMicroelectronics.

The rout began in the US overnight, where the tech-focused Nasdaq fell 3.6% on Wednesday, marking its biggest single-day decline since 2022. About $1tn (£776bn) was knocked off the value of the Nasdaq 100, which covers the most valuable firms on the index. » | Kalyeena Makortoff | Thursday, July 25, 2024

Thursday, July 06, 2023

FTSE 100 Falls to Lowest Closing Level in 2023 as Interest Rate Fears Grip Markets

THE GUARDIAN: Markets suffer on both sides of Atlantic as Fed signals more rate hikes and recession fears grow in UK

Global financial markets fell sharply on Thursday as investors braced for central banks driving interest rates up further to combat high inflation across the world’s leading economies.

Share prices fell on both sides of the Atlantic with the FTSE 100 tumbling by 161 points, or 2.2%, to finish the day at 7,280 – its lowest level since last November – while stocks fell by a similar amount across Europe and by more than 1% in New York.

UK government borrowing costs rose further, extending an increase seen in recent weeks amid concern that the Bank of England may need to engineer the conditions for a recession in order to squeeze high inflation out of the British economy. » | Richard Partington, Economics correspondent | Thursday, July 6, 2023

Friday, June 17, 2022

Stock Markets Plunge again as Flurry of Interest Rate Hikes Fuels Recession Fears

THE GUARDIAN: Investors wary as other central banks follow US Federal Reserve in raising borrowing costs

The global rout in stock markets, cryptocurrencies and other risky assets has gathered pace amid growing concern that out-of-control inflation, rising interest rates and slowing growth could combine to tip the world into recession.

Share prices fell in Asia on Friday at the beginning of what was likely to be another torrid day for investors spooked by the US Federal Reserve’s decision this week to raise interest rates by the largest margin for almost 30 years.

Other leading central banks such as the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank have followed suit – the latter in its first hike for 15 years – sending economists scrambling to revise their forecast for growth downwards.

Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management in Hong Kong said: “No central bankers worth their weight would put inflation-fighting credentials on the line and import higher energy inflation via a weaker currency. » | Martin Farrer | Friday, June 17, 2022

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Global Stock Sell-Off Continues as Economic Concerns Mount

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The losses in China, Japan and Australia followed weakness in the United States, where stocks closed in bear market territory.

The sell-off in stocks continued across the Asia-Pacific region on Tuesday as fears mounted of a recession in the United States and a slowdown in the global economy.

Japan’s Nikkei index fell 1.7 percent in afternoon trading, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index was off 0.5 percent. In Australia, the key stock index tumbled about 4 percent, to its lowest levels in two years.

The market declines followed weakness in the United States, where stocks lost 3.9 percent on Monday to close in bear market territory. After reaching a record high in January, the S&P 500 has fallen more than 20 percent, the seventh bear market in the last 50 years. » | Daisuke Wakabayashi | Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Bear Market Sends Grim Signal of Economic Fears »

The Fed May Discuss the Biggest Interest Rate Increase Since 1994 »

Monday, June 13, 2022

Wall St. Tumbles as Global Sell-off Accelerates.

Screenshot: The New York Times

THE NEW YORK TIMES: U.S. stocks opened in bear market territory on Monday, a 20 percent decline from their peak in January, a sign of growing pessimism about the outlook for the economy.

Markets around the world tumbled, as higher-than-expected inflation and lower-than-expected economic growth upend the outlook for interest rates and corporate profits. Stocks in Asia and Europe fell, investors dumped government bonds, oil prices slipped and cryptocurrencies crashed.

The S&P 500 fell 2.5 percent at the open of trading, as a wave of selling continued. The S&P 500 briefly dipped into bear market territory last month, before recovering to close just above it. The markets have been jittery since, with the S&P 500 last week recording its worst weekly loss since January.

The benchmark U.S. stock index is now “within one bad day’s move of a bear market, and equity futures suggest that we haven’t seen all the negative sentiment expressed yet,” analysts at ING wrote in a note to investors on Monday morning. The S&P 500 has fallen in nine of the past 10 weeks.

A report on Friday showed a surge in inflation in the United States, which rattled markets, as investors worried that the Federal Reserve may have to raise interest rates higher and faster than expected to rein in rising prices, a move that could hit the U.S. economy.

Global investors sold stocks, bonds and other assets, as inflation is running high in many countries, supply chains remain snarled and forecasts for economic growth are being downgraded. » | Alexandra Stevenson and Jason Karaian | Monday, June 13, 2022

What you should know about bear markets: There have been several instances of near-bear markets in recent decades, but it’s rare for them to hit the threshold »

Wall Street chute, inquiète de l’inflation et de la perspective d’une hausse des taux : La Bourse de New York est entrée dans un marché baissier, avec un recul supérieur à 20 % pour le S&P 500 et de 30 % pour le Nasdaq depuis le début de l’année. Lundi, en début de matinée, les deux indices perdaient respectivement 4,15 % et 3,6 %. »

Angst vor schneller steigenden Leitzinsen – Dax fällt auf weniger als 13.500 Punkte: Nachdem die Inflation in Amerika sogar noch einmal gestiegen ist auf deutlich mehr als 8 Prozent, rückt die mächtigste Notenbank der Welt wieder ins Visier der Börse: Straffen die Währungshüter mehr als gedacht? Die Anleger reagieren schon. »

Friday, March 04, 2022

European Shares Tumble, Commodity Prices Soar

THE GUARDIAN: European shares are sliding deeper into the red, after Russian shelling at a Ukrainian nuclear plant – Europe’s shares, commodity prices, biggest nuclear power station – led to a fire that burned for several hours, before being extinguished. The reactors are fine, according to the Ukrainian authorities, but this illustrates the dangers to a nuclear plant in a military conflict and has caused deep unease at the International Atomic Energy Agency. » | Julia Kollewe | Friday, March 4, 2022

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Prospect of Soaring Interest Rates Sends Markets into Frenzy

THE TIMES: Volatility is back. Some of the world’s stock markets are oscillating violently, none more so than Wall Street. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the Dow Jones industrial average experienced intra-day swings of 1,271 points, 1,046 points and 939 points, respectively — huge movements by any normal measure.

While the trend in share prices has been sharply down since New Year’s Day, it is the erratic and wildly fluctuating nature of stock markets that has really caught the eye. » | Patrick Hosking, Financial Editor | Saturday, January 29, 2022

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Monday, January 24, 2022

Markets Plunge Again as Ukraine Stand-off Rattles Investors

THE TIMES: Global stock markets, coming off their worst week in almost two years, fell sharply again today as investors pulled their money out of risky assets amid continued tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the prospect of interest rate rises in the United States.

With investors losing their appetite for risk, the sell-off spread to wider assets including oil and cryptocurrencies. Sterling, too, was out of favour.

In late-afternoon trading the FTSE 100, London’s blue-chip index, was down 172.66 points, or 2.3 per cent, at 7,321.47. It was on course for its biggest one-day fall since the end of November, when the Omicron variant first rattled investors.

The index has fallen in each of the past three sessions and given up all of the gains it … » | Tom Howard | Monday, January 24, 2022 [£] *

* The Times currently has a special offer for new subscribers. Full access is free for the first month.

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Global Markets Swoon as Worries Mount over Superpowers’ Plans

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The S&P 500 closed down 1.7 percent over a number of jitters, like China’s sputtering real estate market and the phasing out of stimulus measures in the United States.

Investors on three continents dumped stocks on Monday, fretting that the governments of the world’s two largest economies — China and the United States — would act in ways that could undercut the nascent global economic recovery.

The Chinese government’s reluctance to step in and save a highly indebted property developer just days before a big interest payment is due signaled to investors that Beijing might break with its longstanding policy of bailing out its homegrown stars.

And in the United States, the globe’s No. 1 economy, investors worried that the Federal Reserve would soon begin cutting back its huge purchases of government bonds, which had helped drive stocks to a series of record highs since the coronavirus pandemic hit.

The sell-off started in Asia and spread to Europe — where exporters to China were slammed — before landing in the United States, where stocks appeared to be heading for their worst performance of the year before a rally at the end of the trading day. The S&P 500 closed down 1.7 percent, its worst daily performance since mid-May, after being down as much as 2.9 percent in the afternoon.

The catalyst for the swoon was the continued turmoil at China Evergrande Group, one of that country’s top three developers of residential properties. The company has an estimated $300 billion in debt, and an interest payment of more than $80 million is due this week. » | Matt Phillips, Eshe Nelson and Coral Murphy Marcos | Monday, September 20, 2021

Monday, December 24, 2018

Markets Stage One of Worst Christmas Eves Ever, Closing Down More Than 600 Points as Trump Blames Fed for Stock Losses in a Tweet


THE WASHINGTON POST: The Dow Jones industrial average followed its worst week in a decade with a 653-point drop Monday, and President Trump once again took to Twitter to interject himself into financial markets.

As blue chips sank even deeper into the red after weeks of chaos, Trump tried to assign sole blame for the sell-off to the Federal Reserve, likening the central bank to a golfer who “can’t putt.”

“The only problem our economy has is the Fed,” the president said in a tweet. “They don’t have a feel for the Market, they don’t understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can’t score because he has no touch — he can’t putt! » | Thomas Heath & Philip Rucker | Monday, December 24, 2018

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Is It Contagious? Italy Crisis Spooks Europe, Markets


A technocrat interim prime minister who may never form a government. Will the Italian president call early elections or try again to cut a deal with an unprecedented populist coalition. Will a founding member of the EU be led by euro skeptics? With no clarity on the horizon, the now-steadied European markets may falter. Why is the backlash against traditional politics still growing, with new parties blowing up the old left vs right divide? When the dust settles, what will Europe look like?