Closing May8

​In European Equity Markets the pan-European STOXX Europe 600 was 1.5% lower at the closing bell, with most sectors and major bourses seeing heavy losses. Europe’s banking stocks showed the most substantial slide, falling 2.6% with Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered all down by around 3%. Italy’s FinecoBank led the sector’s losses, with shares down 7% after lender UniCredit said it may reduce its stake in the online banking unit. BMW fell by around 4% after the German carmaker reported a 78% fell in first-quarter profits, hit by legal provisions and expenses.



In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar rose and the Chinese offshore yuan stayed hobbled near 2-1/2 month lows on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of additional tariffs on Chinese goods rattled traders, though both moves were modest. The dollar index was 0.14% higher, last at 97.652, with the dollar 0.13% stronger against the euro at $1.118. The Australian dollar jumped as much as 0.8 percent to $0.7048 after the country’s central bank held interest rates at a record low, dashing speculation it might ease policy following a weaker-than-expected reading of inflation.



In Commodities Markets oil prices fell nearly 2 percent on Tuesday, on track to fall to their lowest levels in over a month as renewed doubts over U.S.-China trade talks stoked concerns over global growth and demand even though U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela tightened supply and helped stem losses. Brent futures were down $1.36, or 1.9 percent, at $69.88 a barrel, while U.S. WTI crude was down $1.14, or 1.8 percent, at $61.11 per barrel. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10-25 percent by Friday.



In US Equity Markets indices fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday, as renewed worries over trade negotiations with China stoked global growth worries and kept investors away from risky assets.  The S&P 500 was down 1.44%, at 2,890.24 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.71%, at 7,984.62. Among decliners, Mylan NV tumbled 17% after the drugmaker missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue, hurt partly by manufacturing problems at its Morgantown plant in West Virginia. Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc fell 5% after the drugmaker missed quarterly profit estimates.



In Bond Markets German government bond yields hit five-week lows on Tuesday and Italian shares fell, led by the country’s banking index, after the European Commission revised down euro area growth forecasts and cut its already gloomy outlook for Italy. Italian 10-year government bond yields hit a day’s high of 2.6 percent, before pulling back to 2.59 percent. Irish 10-year government bond yields fell to 0.51 percent, their lowest since December 2017, while Ireland’s 30-year benchmark touched a three week low of 1.33 percent.