By David Randall
NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A rush into the safety of U.S. government bonds smothered a broad rally in global stocks Wednesday as spiraling fears of a global economic recession gripped markets.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell to their lowest levels since October, 2016, and gold soared to a six-year high, while riskier assets like stocks and oil prices nosedived.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI opened more than 500 points lower, helping erase earlier gains in European shares.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed 0.57%.
"Bonds are being bought in a panic mode," said Andrew Brenner, managing director at National Alliance Capital Markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 365.11 points, or 1.4%, to 25,664.41, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 31.36 points, or 1.09%, to 2,850.41 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 62.56 points, or 0.8%, to 7,770.71. .N
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX lost 0.39%. .EU
U.S. shares had gained overnight after President Donald Trump downplayed worries of a lengthy trade war and senior adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump's administration is planning to host a Chinese delegation for talks in September Wall Street futures gauges also rose.
The U.S. administration's remarks marked a shift in tone from recent days, when Beijing warned that Washington's labeling China as a currency manipulator would have severe consequences for the global financial order. The U.S. move rattled financial markets and dimmed hopes the trade war was ending.
Since then, China's state banks have been active in the onshore yuan forwards market, tightening dollar supply and supporting the Chinese currency, sources told Reuters. that support, the yuan still dropped 0.2% to 7.0708 in offshore markets CNH=EBS , with currency markets still on edge after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set its official reference rate at an 11-year low. had a little bit of recovery yesterday, but this morning we are seeing that stalling due to the PBOC fixing the dollar-yen higher again," said Thu Lan Nguyen, FX strategist at Commerzbank (DE:CBKG).
The skittish mood was underlined by continuing demand for currencies and commodities considered safe havens.
Gold touched a six-year high of $1,489.76 per ounce XAU= . The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 106.26 JPY=EBS , although that was still some way from levels seen on Monday when the trade war's escalation panicked investors. banks across the world, looking to rev up growth and fight low inflation rates, have turned increasingly dovish in recent months.
Ten-year Treasury notes yielded 1.66% percent US10YT=RR , their lowest since 2016, as investors bet on another rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September. 10-year bond yield fell to record lows deep in negative territory as the bigger-than-expected Kiwi interest rate cut and weak German economic data fueled further a rally in bond markets. industrial output fell more than expected in June, adding to signs that Europe's biggest economy contracted in the second quarter as its exporters were caught up in trade disputes. commodity markets, oil prices slipped to near seven-month lows, with the potential for damage to the global economy and to dampen demand from the Sino-U.S. trade dispute casting a shadow over the market. benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 3.2% to $57.03 a barrel, while U.S. crude dropped 3.7% to $51.65.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Global assets in 2019
http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl Global currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Global bonds dashboard (DO NOT USE UNTIL UPDATE FOUND)
http://tmsnrt.rs/2fPTds0 Emerging markets in 2019
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap
http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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