Zürcher Nachrichten - Global stocks down, euro slumps over growth and inflation worries

EUR -
AED 3.766641
AFN 73.23806
ALL 98.213989
AMD 412.332779
ANG 1.856297
AOA 935.240708
ARS 1062.018763
AUD 1.66908
AWG 1.848433
AZN 1.747392
BAM 1.955481
BBD 2.079661
BDT 125.649516
BGN 1.955987
BHD 0.386137
BIF 3046.903275
BMD 1.025483
BND 1.40867
BOB 7.11684
BRL 6.280229
BSD 1.030032
BTN 88.642549
BWP 14.496637
BYN 3.37075
BYR 20099.463259
BZD 2.068963
CAD 1.479356
CDF 2943.136063
CHF 0.93984
CLF 0.037515
CLP 1035.163783
CNY 7.519562
CNH 7.551092
COP 4459.872923
CRC 519.91524
CUC 1.025483
CUP 27.175295
CVE 110.247027
CZK 25.104029
DJF 183.420098
DKK 7.46716
DOP 63.229692
DZD 139.334285
EGP 51.791557
ERN 15.382242
ETB 129.247629
FJD 2.398301
FKP 0.812164
GBP 0.840043
GEL 2.89703
GGP 0.812164
GHS 15.192523
GIP 0.812164
GMD 73.325971
GNF 8906.547999
GTQ 7.948704
GYD 215.494869
HKD 7.987845
HNL 26.19473
HRK 7.355692
HTG 134.558063
HUF 413.751951
IDR 16732.956986
ILS 3.778509
IMP 0.812164
INR 88.392009
IQD 1349.280032
IRR 43160.012072
ISK 144.839589
JEP 0.812164
JMD 161.513669
JOD 0.727482
JPY 161.723809
KES 133.328264
KGS 89.217365
KHR 4163.321269
KMF 490.232455
KPW 922.933964
KRW 1511.689901
KWD 0.316366
KYD 0.85836
KZT 543.59138
LAK 22474.336092
LBP 92236.063097
LKR 303.410536
LRD 192.6086
LSL 19.575809
LTL 3.027985
LVL 0.620305
LYD 5.09117
MAD 10.352112
MDL 19.250862
MGA 4877.204887
MKD 61.519971
MMK 3330.728196
MNT 3484.590487
MOP 8.259753
MRU 41.107298
MUR 48.023749
MVR 15.796269
MWK 1786.008834
MXN 21.24647
MYR 4.611088
MZN 65.532176
NAD 19.575809
NGN 1591.006216
NIO 37.903821
NOK 11.768137
NPR 141.827878
NZD 1.844062
OMR 0.394366
PAB 1.030032
PEN 3.875868
PGK 4.129327
PHP 60.512755
PKR 286.853535
PLN 4.269649
PYG 8087.681495
QAR 3.755088
RON 4.980877
RSD 117.065915
RUB 104.230108
RWF 1432.766421
SAR 3.849289
SBD 8.65448
SCR 14.727599
SDG 616.315522
SEK 11.508485
SGD 1.405223
SHP 0.812164
SLE 23.330115
SLL 21503.865086
SOS 588.604042
SRD 35.999613
STD 21225.423919
SVC 9.012531
SYP 2576.556598
SZL 19.571809
THB 35.613006
TJS 11.237268
TMT 3.58919
TND 3.306261
TOP 2.401787
TRY 36.303429
TTD 6.99186
TWD 33.955073
TZS 2592.477358
UAH 43.558099
UGX 3808.379134
USD 1.025483
UYU 44.972668
UZS 13345.82428
VES 55.18254
VND 26016.499127
VUV 121.747374
WST 2.833191
XAF 655.850079
XAG 0.033731
XAU 0.000381
XCD 2.771419
XDR 0.793171
XOF 655.850079
XPF 119.331742
YER 255.601965
ZAR 19.595798
ZMK 9230.579631
ZMW 28.453361
ZWL 330.205049
  • SCS

    -0.3300

    10.97

    -3.01%

  • BCE

    -0.6700

    22.96

    -2.92%

  • BCC

    -1.5200

    115.88

    -1.31%

  • CMSC

    -0.1800

    22.92

    -0.79%

  • JRI

    -0.1400

    12.08

    -1.16%

  • RBGPF

    60.4900

    60.49

    +100%

  • GSK

    -0.6600

    33.09

    -1.99%

  • CMSD

    -0.1500

    23.25

    -0.65%

  • NGG

    -1.8500

    56.13

    -3.3%

  • RIO

    0.2100

    58.84

    +0.36%

  • RELX

    -0.4000

    46.37

    -0.86%

  • BTI

    -0.8400

    35.9

    -2.34%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0300

    7.07

    -0.42%

  • BP

    0.1700

    31.29

    +0.54%

  • VOD

    -0.1600

    8.05

    -1.99%

  • AZN

    0.4300

    67.01

    +0.64%

Global stocks down, euro slumps over growth and inflation worries
Global stocks down, euro slumps over growth and inflation worries / Photo: PHILIPPE HUGUEN - AFP/File

Global stocks down, euro slumps over growth and inflation worries

World equities mostly fell Thursday and the euro hit a five-year dollar low as investors worried about growth amid stubborn inflation and rising interest rates.

Text size:

Frankfurt, London and Paris stock markets each sank following heavy falls in Asia.

Meanwhile, Wall Street was mostly lower in late morning trading, with the Dow down 0.3 percent.

Panic-stricken investors also sent virtual unit bitcoin tumbling to the lowest level since late 2020 after a dramatic collapse in some stablecoin cryptocurrencies.

Oil prices pushed higher as investors focused on supply issues.

- 'Sticky inflation' worries -

Data released Wednesday showed US inflation slowed to 8.3 percent in April after a four-decade peak of 8.5 percent in March, but that was less than what experts had forecast and prompted concerns inflation will remain high.

Wednesday's stock trading is "pointing to a market that is becoming more concerned about slowing growth, and sticky inflation, aka rising stagflation and, or recession risk", according to analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

The dollar has gotten a boost, both as the greenback is seen as a haven in uncertain times and as the US Federal Reserve has taken the lead in raising interest rates in the face of surging inflation.

The dollar is currently at a two-decade high against a trade-weighted index of rival currencies, and on Thursday the euro slumped to a five-year dollar low at $1.0389.

"Given the combination of a relatively hawkish monetary policy stance and a dollar-positive global backdrop, we expect the dollar to grind higher against nearly all developed and emerging market currencies over the course of the Fed's current tightening cycle," said analysts at Capital Economics.

Interest rates are being hiked worldwide to tackle decades-high inflation, which is fuelled mostly by rocketing energy costs.

Both raising prices and borrowing costs threaten to halt growth in many countries, however.

London's stock market was slammed Thursday also by news that the UK economy shrank in March on fallout from soaring inflation, increasing the prospect of a recession -- or two quarters of contraction in a row.

The data sent the pound sliding to a May 2020 low at $1.2166.

World markets have been volatile for much of 2022 owing to China's Covid-19 lockdowns, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and as surging inflation weighed on consumer sentiment.

Cryptocurrency trading has also been dampening investor sentiment after two so-called stablecoins proved to be anything but. Supposedly pegged to the dollar, both TerraUSD and Tether saw the values collapse.

"The worry is that there will be a spillover to other risk assets like stocks, which could be treated as a source of funds to meet margin calls or which could simply be subjected to an exacerbation of the negative sentiment that has had a vice grip on the market for most of the year," said market analyst Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.

Bitcoin slumped below $27,000, before recovering to stand down around 6 percent at $29,091.39.

- Key figures at around 1630 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 31,729.22 points

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,613.43

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.6 percent at 7,233.34 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 13,739.64 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 6,206.26 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 percent at 19,380.34 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,054.99 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.8 percent at 25,748.72 (close)

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.8 percent at $108.34 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $107.00 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0413 from $1.0513 at 2100 GMT Wednesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2228 from $1.2251

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.18 pence from 85.81 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 128.23 yen from 129.97 yen

burs-lcm/rl/har

A.Senn--NZN