US stock futures declined on Thursday recovery of technology stocks put on hold and investors braced for the possibility of increased market volatility.
Futures pegged to the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and futures for the high-tech Nasdaq fell 0.1%, indicating markets should open lower later Thursday. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.4%.
rose 1.1% in premarket after the company’s CEO said the Covid-19 vaccine it is developing with Oxford University may still be ready by the end of the year.
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In recent days, the markets have been dominated by the volatility of stocks of large technology companies such as Apple, Amazon.com and Microsoft. Tech stocks rose sharply on Wednesday after three sessions of sell-off that pushed the Nasdaq Composite into a retracement zone. Despite the recent decline, the Nasdaq is up over 20% this year.
The recent plunge in tech stocks has raised concerns that a market that has surged so sharply over the summer may be set for a more turbulent period… In a sign of nervousness, the Cboe Volatility Index, known as the Vix and seen as an indicator of Wall Street fear, rose 2.7% recently to hit 29.60 on Thursday.
“We can see that volatility will continue only because there are so many factors, if you think about the lack of progress on fiscal stimulus in the US and [Covid-19] says Wei Li, Head of Investment Strategy for iShares EMEA at BlackRock. “It’s just hard to imagine that we can put this to bed.”
Apple store Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on Thursday. Apple shares have been volatile in recent sessions.
Photo:
Brian van der Beek / Bloomberg News
Congress remains deadlocked over the new stimulus package. Senate Republicans said Wednesday that $ 300 billion reduced cost version support their previous $ 1 trillion stimulus plan, including unemployment relief, liability protection for businesses, and funding for schools. Democrats oppose the bill, and it is not expected to overcome the first procedural hurdle in the Senate on Thursday.
Parent company International Consolidated Airlines Group fell 1.8% after it outlined the terms of a planned capital increase to strengthen its balance sheet and reduce debt.
Trading in Asia was multidirectional: the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6%, while the Korean Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% each.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing continued. hang over the markets… More than 70% of US companies surveyed by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai expect geopolitical turbulence to create operational difficulties over the next three to five years, compared with about half of companies that said the same last year.
The euro rose 0.3% against the dollar after the European Central Bank said it would leave interest rates unchanged. At the upcoming press conference, investors will be listening for information on how the recent strengthening of the euro will affect monetary policy.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year Treasuries rose to 0.705% from 0.702% on Wednesday. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
On the commodity side, Brent crude fell 1.3% to $ 40.28 a barrel, while WTI futures fell 1.6% to $ 37.46 a barrel. Data from the American Petroleum Institute, released late Wednesday night, showed an unexpected rise in US oil inventories.
