Stocks swoon, dollar firms as Powell speech looms
Powell at Jackson Hole.
U.S. yields stabilised below 14-year highs.
Crude oil found its footing around one-month lows, but remained on course for a second weekly decline amid a firmer dollar and simmering China-centred worries about global growth.
Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China set a much stronger-than-anticipated official mid-point for the yuan — something it has done every day this week — to keep a floor under its currency amid the strains from a robust dollar and a sputtering economy.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares sagged 1.2%, but remained on track for a 0.5% gain for the week, which would snap a three-week run of declines.
Nerves ahead of Powell's speech at the Fed's annual retreat for global central bankers, including the Bank of Japan's Kazuo Ueda and European Central Bank's Christine Lagarde, encouraged traders to cash in on this week's tech-led rally, punctuated by chip designer Nvidia's extremely strong financial results following Wednesday's closing bell.
The tech-centric Nasdaq slumped 1.87% on Thursday to lead losses of more than 1% across Wall Street's three major indexes, and futures indicated some further weakness at the reopen.
Pan-European Stoxx 50 futures also signalled no respite from Thursday's losses.
Japan's Nikkei tumbled 2%, with Nvidia supplier Advantest the biggest drag, crashing almost 10%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.1%, with a tech subindex dropping about twice that amount. Mainland blue chips drooped 0.6%.
«It's all down to Powell,» said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.
«In all likelihood, he'll peddle the 'higher for longer' narrative which is likely already priced in, and that leaves the potential for a 'buy the rumour, sell the fact' response,»
