BLBG:European Stocks Sink to Seven-Week Low as Treasuries Fall
European stocks slid to a seven-week low as the Bank of Japan refrained from expanding stimulus and Treasury yields climbed. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also declined.
Legrand SA retreated 4 percent after Wendel sold the remaining 14.4 million shares it holds in the world’s largest maker of switches, plugs and lighting controls. ICAP Plc dropped 3.6 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG recommended selling the shares. A gauge of European commodity producers retreated to the lowest since July 2009 as copper dropped for a fourth day in London trading.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.6 percent to 290.5 at 10:48 a.m. in London, the lowest since April 23. The gauge has retreated 6.4 percent since May 22 amid speculation the Federal Reserve will taper its bond-buying program as the U.S. economy strengthens. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost 0.8 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.2 percent.
“Uncertainty weighs on markets today,” said Eric Bernhardt, chief investment officer at Umblin AG in Zurich. “Investors are disappointed by the BOJ’s unchanged policy as they had hoped they would do more to solve the problems on the Japanese bond market.”
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed as much as five basis points to 2.26 percent, the highest level since April 2012.
The BOJ today refrained from expanding its tools to rekindle inflation and stoke growth, sticking with an April pledge to increase the monetary base by 60 trillion yen ($620 billion) to 70 trillion yen a year. Markets in China were closed for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Japan Focus
“With China out of action, Japan is the main source of leads for the region,” Stan Shamu, a market strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne, wrote in e-mailed comments. “Following the recent strength in the yen, some wanted to see bold action by the BOJ, particularly fresh steps to curb bond-market volatility and an extension to the duration of its fixed-rate lending.”
Germany’s top court will begin a two-day hearing today to address the European Central Bank’s Outright Monetary Transactions program and the European Stability Mechanism.
The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is reviewing the OMT, which was introduced last year as concerns peaked that the euro region would break apart, after plaintiffs including a lawmaker allied to Chancellor Angela Merkel brought a case against it. The as-yet-unused OMT foresees potentially unlimited purchases of bonds of debt-stricken countries that sign up to adjustment programs.
The court last year allowed Germany to ratify the 500 billion-euro ($663 billion) ESM bailout facility and the EU fiscal pact, while ruling the measures must include provisions that the country won’t be forced to assume higher liabilities without its consent. The September ruling was preliminary and didn’t cover the OMT bond program.
To contact the reporter on this story: Corinne Gretler in Zurich at cgretler1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
