Sydney
Shares slid on Monday as China’s property woes amplified the case for stimulus even as Beijing seemed deaf to the calls, while rising Treasury yields lifted the dollar, which rose above the closely-watched 145 yen level.
There was plenty to be watching elsewhere in the world too, as Argentine voters punished the two main political forces in a primary election on Sunday, pushing a radical libertarian outsider candidate into first place, and pressuring the country’s bonds.
Also, the Russian rouble softened past the psychologically key 100 per U.S. dollar threshold for the first time since March, with President Vladimir Putin’s economic advisor blaming loose monetary policy, a day after a Russian warship fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea.
MSCI’s world index was down 0.3%, with most of the losses driven by Asian stocks. The main ex-Japan index was down 1.2%, after shedding 2% last week. Japan’s Nikkei was off 1.3%.
Europe’s broad STOXX 600 benchmark was flat but the miner-heavy and China-exposed FTSE lagged, falling 0.46%, amid fears that trouble in China’s largest private property developer, Country Garden, could have a chilling effect on the country’s homebuyers and financial institutions.
Chinese blue chips fell 0.73%, on top of a 3.4% decline last week, amid disappointing economic news culminating in a dire report on new bank loans in July. U.S. share futures shrugged off the news however, rising 0.2%, following losses on Friday when surprisingly high readings on U.S. producer prices tested market optimism that inflation would cool enough to avoid further rate hikes.
