Bloomberg — US equity futures declined on the final trading day of 2022 as financial markets close out the worst year in more than a decade for global equities and bonds.
S&P 500 contracts slipped about 0.3%, taking the shine off the best day this month for the US index on Thursday when it jumped 1.7%. Nasdaq 100 contracts also retreated after the benchmark climbed 2.5% Thursday. The index has lost a third of value this year as tech stocks emerged as some of the most vulnerable to rising rates.
The dollar extended declines against major peers, with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index heading for its lowest level since June. Treasury yields inched higher and the yen rallied as the Bank of Japan unveiled an unprecedented third day of unscheduled bond purchases.
The uncertain direction sapped hopes for a stellar rally to close out 2022 — a year when inflation reasserted itself to wipe a fifth in value from global stocks, the worst run since the financial crisis. Bonds lost 16% of value, the biggest decline since at least 1990 for one leading measure, as central banks raced to slow rising consumer prices by hiking interest rates around the world.
Technology and telecommunications shares led a broad-based decline in the Stoxx Europe 600 index, which is heading for its worst year since 2018. The gauge held a decline even after data showed Spanish inflation slowed for a fifth straight month in December as energy costs continue to decline in the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy.
Emerging-market stocks were set for the first weekly advance in three as the benchmark index remained on track for a decline of more than 20% in 2022.
Elsewhere in markets, oil rose after a three-day run of declines on worries about a rise in crude stockpiles and concerns that rising Covid-19 infections in China would slow demand in one of the world’s top oil importers.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% as of 6:33 a.m. New York time
- Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.6%
- The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
- The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0692
- The British pound was unchanged at $1.2055
- The Japanese yen rose 1% to 131.67 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $16,503.44
- Ether fell 0.2% to $1,191.95
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 3.85%
- Germany’s 10-year yield advanced nine basis points to 2.52%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 3.69%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1% to $78.29 a barrel
- Gold futures were little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
--With assistance from Jan-Patrick Barnert and Richard Henderson.
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