By David Randall
NEW YORK, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Global equity benchmarks
rebounded and the dollar dipped Wednesday after a three-day
sharp sell-off in U.S. tech stocks that erased more than 10%
from the Nasdaq Composite Index.
AstraZeneca AZN.L shares fell 1.4% after global trials of
its experimental COVID-19 vaccine were paused due to an
unexplained illness in a study participant. It clawed back
heavier losses incurred in premarket trading. The news had earlier unnerved investors in Asia hoping that
the quick introduction of a vaccine would accelerate the
recovery for global economies ravaged by the pandemic.
"This has been a correction that was probably not that
surprising, given the move in August in the tech sector," said
Salman Baig, an investment manager at Unigestion, adding that
the outlook for Big Tech was positive.
"It's exactly those companies that are new economy - they
are benefiting because of their model, the industry, the virus."
Those attributes have sparked heavy bets from the likes of
SoftBank, which has traded heavily in tech stocks call options.
The bets have made investors worried about its exposure to
the sector. SoftBank Group 9984.T shares lost 3% in Tokyo,
extending this week's slump that has wiped $15 billion from its
market capitalization. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS
gained 0.91% following broad declines in Asia and rallies in
Europe.
In morning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI rose 248.73 points, or 0.9%, to 27,749.62, the
S&P 500 .SPX gained 42.03 points, or 1.26%, to 3,373.87 and
the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 181.30 points, or 1.67%, to
11,028.99.
Despite renewed appetite for stocks, safe-haven German
government bond yields DE10IT10=RR fell to their lowest in
two-weeks. The fall in tech shares also boosted demand for U.S.
Treasuries, even though heavy supply this week is expected to
weigh on the bonds.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 2/32 in price
to yield 0.6771%, from 0.684% late on Tuesday.
The dollar index =USD fell 0.297%, with the euro EUR= up
0.28% to $1.1812.
The remarkable rally in global shares from their March lows
has been driven in part by expectations that a COVID-19 vaccine
would be found, helping to accelerate the economic recovery from
the coronavirus pandemic.
Yet AstraZeneca's move dims prospects for an early rollout
of its vaccine, described by the World Health Organization as
probably the world's leading candidate and the most advanced in
terms of development.
Deutsche Bank strategists called the suspension of the
trials "a blow".
U.S. crude CLc1 recently rose 1.31% to $37.24 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $40.06, up 0.7% on the day.
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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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