Global stocks struggled to avoid a second day of declines on Thursday as hints of surging inflation led by a one-year high in oil prices and the strongest copper prices in nearly a decade kept traders in check after a boisterous run up that pushed world stocks to 12 consecutive record highs. After a soggy close to the Wednsday session, S&P futures turned lower, trading down -0.4% as 10Y yield resumed their rise, trading at session highs of 1.29% while Asian stocks equities extended losses after a disappointing Chinese markets reopen.
China’s CSI 300 index which reopened after the week-long Lunar new year, reversed a 2.1% gain to 1% loss after the PBOC unexpectedly drained 260 billion yuan ($40.31 billion) from money markets, raising concern about backdoor policy tightening. The ChiNext index fell as much as 3.3%. Hang Seng, Topix and Kospi were all deep in the red while the Taiex outperformed on U.S. chip help request.
In Europe, stocks also slipped as declines in banks offset gains in commodity producers. Shares in Credit Suisse Group AG fell 1.4% after it reported a fourth-quarter loss. Offsetting the broader decline, the Stoxx Europe 600 Basic Resources Index (SXPP) rose as much as 2.8% and headed for the highest level since July 2011 with Rio Tinto, Boliden and KGHM among the best performers as copper hit a fresh 8-year high, while iron ore surged to highest in almost two months as Chinese traders returned from holiday and Australian peer Fortescue Metals Group provided a bullish outlook. European drillers and miners rose 2.5% to offset disappointing earnings numbers from companies including Airbus and Orange. Some of the biggest outperformers within the diversified miners were Rio Tinto +3.7%, BHP +2.5%, Glencore +3%, Anglo American +2.4%. Here are some of the biggest European movers today:
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