Stocks Tumble Most Since August Rout, Oil Slips: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia slumped essentially the most because the Aug. 5 rout, tracking a selloff in US peers driven by a plunge in Nvidia Corp.

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Shares of Asian chipmakers tumbled amid renewed concerns over the substitute intelligence frenzy, bringing a regional equity benchmark down greater than 2%. Chip giants Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and SK Hynix Inc. fell no less than 4% each. US futures also slid in Asian trading after the S&P 500 shed greater than 2%.

The broad risk-off mood got here as a closely watched US manufacturing gauge again missed forecasts, shifting investor focus toward the chances of an economic slowdown on the earth’s largest economy. That added to an already-weak sentiment in Asia, where a run of disappointing Chinese data had been hurting risk assets.

“The extent of that Aug. 5 move probably burnt greater than a number of and it’s hard to get past those memories especially because the hard landing versus soft landing confusion continues to be unsettled,” said Charu Chanana, head of FX strategy at Saxo Markets in Singapore. “I could be somewhat cautious here” as soft data will raise recession concerns while positive data will ease rate-cut expectations, she added.

Treasury yields steadied after a tumble Tuesday. A dollar gauge snapped a five-day winning streak, its longest since April. The yen edged higher. Oil pushed lower after a decline of just about 5% on Tuesday amid weak demand and oversupply concerns.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Australian dollar held on to losses as data showed Australia’s economic weakness endured within the three months through June.

Chinese stocks fell after a non-public survey showed services activity expanded lower than expected, the newest sign of the economy’s fragility.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 saw their worst starts to a September since 2015 and 2002, respectively. With inflation expectations anchored, attention has shifted to the health of the economy as signs of weakness could speed up policy easing. While rate cuts are likely to bode well for equities, that’s not normally the case when the Fed is rushing to forestall a recession.

Wall Street’s “fear gauge” – the VIX – soared.

“The cruel selloff on Wall Street was a stark reminder that September has a foul popularity for wavering risk appetite,” said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank in Singapore, adding that the situation could also be exacerbated by US recession risks and unwinding of the yen carry trade.

Traders are anticipating the Federal Reserve will reduce rates by greater than two full percentage points over the following 12 months — the steepest drop outside of a downturn because the Eighties.

Marking the beginning of a busy week for economic data, a report showed US manufacturing activity shrank in August for a fifth month. Focus will turn to the important thing US jobs report due later this week. The info is anticipated to point out payrolls on the earth’s largest economy increased by about 165,000, based on the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

“This week’s jobs report, while not the only determinant, will likely be a key consider the Fed’s decision between a 25 or 50 basis-point cut,” said Jason Pride and Michael Reynolds at Glenmede. “Even modest signals on this week’s jobs report could possibly be a key decision point as as to whether the Fed takes a more cautious or aggressive approach.”

The S&P 500 dropped to around 5,530 while the Nasdaq 100 lost over 3% as Nvidia tumbled 9.5% — erasing $279 billion in a record one-day wipeout for a US stock. The US Justice Department sent subpoenas to Nvidia and other firms because it seeks evidence that the chipmaker violated antitrust laws.

Key events this week:

  • Eurozone HCOB services PMI, PPI, Wednesday

  • Canada rate decision, Wednesday

  • US job openings, factory orders, Beige Book, Wednesday

  • Eurozone retail sales, Thursday

  • US initial jobless claims, ADP employment, ISM services index, Thursday

  • Eurozone GDP, Friday

  • US nonfarm payrolls, Friday

  • Fed’s John Williams speaks, Friday

A few of the essential moves in markets:

Stocks

  • S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% as of 11:12 a.m. Tokyo time

  • Japan’s Topix fell 3%

  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.8%

  • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.7%

  • The Shanghai Composite fell 0.7%

  • Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.9%

  • Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6%

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%

  • The euro was little modified at $1.1053

  • The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 145.27 per dollar

  • The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 7.1134 per dollar

  • The Australian dollar fell 0.2% to $0.6698

Cryptocurrencies

  • Bitcoin fell 2.7% to $56,669.73

  • Ether fell 4% to $2,365.42

Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little modified at 3.83%

  • Japan’s 10-year yield declined 3.5 basis points to 0.885%

  • Australia’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to three.94%

Commodities

This story was produced with the help of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Rob Verdonck and Joanna Ossinger.

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