Wall Street Climbs, FTSE 100 Dips as 30-Year Gilt Yield Tops 6%
With Wall Street closing higher, global equities markets delivered mixed performance as elevated oil prices and Treasury yields continue to dampen investors’ appetite for risk assets.
Both elevated bond yields and oil prices are keeping global risk appetite under pressure, although retreating Treasury yields offered Wall Street some relief,the stockbroking and portfolio management unit of First National Bank said in a brief.
The S&P 500 closed 0.19% higher, while the NASDAQ and Dow Jones (+0.04%) ended the session barely higher, as investors awaited September’s US jobs report for guidance on Federal Reserve policy.
Across the pond, Europe absorbed the sharper impact of expectations that borrowing costs will remain elevated, with financials leading losses.
The FTSE 100 fell 1.68% as the 30-year gilt yield briefly exceeded 6%, while the Euro Stoxx 50 lost 1.49%. Against that backdrop, Asia Pacific markets are weakening.
The Hang Seng Index is trading 2.64% lower as elevated US yields, energy costs, and restrictions on advanced AI hardware weigh on technology shares.
The Nikkei 225 is declining 0.92%, while the ASX 200 is up 0.75% despite persistent inflation concerns, higher crude prices, and hawkish policy expectations.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) ended Thursday’s session lower, with the All Share Index declining 0.69% and the Top 40 falling 0.61%, as rising global bond yields and a sharp sell-off in financials weighed on sentiment.
Financials were the day’s worst-performing sector, falling 2.02% as banks gave up 2.37%, led by Capitec’s 3.63% decline. By contrast, Industrials slipped only 0.08%, while Resources gained 0.21%.
On the macro front, domestic data was broadly supportive, with the Absa Manufacturing PMI rising to 50.7 in September from 45.8 in August, surpassing consensus expectations and returning to expansion territory for the first time since May as new orders rebounded to 50.8 from 40.3.
September new vehicle sales also increased 12.7% y/y to 61 645 units, while August electricity production declined 7.1% y/y, highlighting ongoing structural energy constraints.
Meanwhile, the South African Reserve Bank appointed Franz Ruch, formerly of the World Bank, as the seventh member of its Monetary Policy Committee with immediate effect.
The JSE is set for a tentative open this morning amid broadly positive global futures and a mixed Asian session, offering scope for a measured open after the All Share and Top 40 closed lower.
Regional risk appetite remains uneven, with the Hang Seng under pressure and Tencent retreating 2.41%, a negative read-through for Naspers and Prosus. On the resources side, the S&P/ASX 300 Metals and Mining Index is 0.88% stronger, pointing to support for diversified miners.
Precious metals provide further support, with gold edging higher and platinum advancing more convincingly, which should lend support to local gold miners and PGM counters.
30-Year U.S. Treasury Yield Rises to 5.6%, Highest Since 2002
