Tech problems keep stocks soft; bonds stay strong

[June 04, 2019]  By Marc Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock markets remained under pressure on Tuesday as worries about a clampdown on the world's internet and social media giants compounded mounting global trade and recession jitters.

Those nerves have pushed investors into top-rated government bonds and other safety plays in recent weeks, and there was little sign of a significant reverse as Europe opened.

Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields steadied just above 2% on bets the Federal Reserve would raise U.S. interest rates and many as three times this year. Bund yields stuck near record lows, and Japan's yen reached a five-month high against the dollar.

Europe's STOXX 600 index recovered from a weak start, but tech stocks remained more than 1% lower after reports the U.S. government was gearing up to investigate whether Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google misused their market power.
 

A combined $85 billion was wiped off Facebook and Google parent Alphabet's values. New York's tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped into correction territory, having lost 10% over the last month.

"That (U.S. investigation) is currently weighing on stocks, but more importantly the market is increasingly pricing in the risk of recession," said Rabobank senior macro strategist Teeuwe Mevissen. "Sentiment is significantly suppressed."

Global monetary policy is in focus this week as the hostile trade rhetoric between the U.S. and China continues. Fed ratesetter James Bullard said on Monday lowering U.S. rates "may be warranted soon".

Australia's central bank cut rates to a record low and on Thursday the European Central Bank is set to detail a fresh dump of cheap money. India is expected to lower its ratesm too.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had ended down 0.3%. China's blue-chip CSI300 dropped 0.9% and the Hang Seng lost 0.66% in Hong Kong. [.SS] Japan's Nikkei ended flat after a rocky session. Wall Street futures gained.

The London Stock Exchange Group offices are seen in the City of London, Britain, December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

SCRAMBLE TO SAFETY

U.S. Treasury yields also rose but remained near recent lows. U.S. 10-year notes yielded 2.09% after touching 2.06 -- the lowest since September 2017.

All this underlined the scramble to re-price Fed policy and the biggest two-day drop in U.S. two-year Treasury yields since the 2008 crash. The yield curve between three-month and 10-year debt has inverted by as much as 27 basis points, historically a recession signal.

Adding to the rates rethink has been a recession-spooked recoil in world oil prices. Brent crude futures are now testing $60 per barrel for the first time in four months. It was last down 0.6% at $60.92 per barrel and U.S. crude was down 0.4% at $53.02.

In contrast, safe-have gold was up 0.1% at $1,326.47 per ounce, near three-month highs.

"Risk aversion has also been seen with the yen carry trade unwinding as the markets comprehend that the U.S. technology containment strategy towards China is unlikely to reverse," analysts at Jefferies said in a note.

"In the short term, positioning has become so bearish that 'a ceasefire' could spark a risk rally," they said.

(Additional Reporting by Andrew Galbraith in Shanghai, editing by Larry King)

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