· The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered the bulk of a nearly 600-point drop on Wednesday as a sharp decline in bond yields stabilized to temper worries over slowing economic growth.
The 30-stock index closed 22.45 points lower, or 0.1% at 26,007.07. At its lows of the day, the Dow had fallen more 589.13 points. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4% to 7,862.83, led by Apple, after the tech-heavy index fell as much as 1.7%. The S&P 500 eked out a small gain after dropping nearly 2%, climbing 0.1% to 2,883.98. This was the S&P 500′s biggest intraday comeback of the year.
The 10-year Treasury yield traded around 1.71%. The benchmark rate briefly dipped below 1.6% earlier in the day to hit a 2016 low.
Stocks also bounced off their lows as the Chinese yuan’s fall against the U.S. dollar was curbed. The yuan traded around 7.06 per dollar on Wednesday. The currency bounced off its session low against the dollar around 9:45 a.m. ET, around the same time the major stock indexes started to pare losses.
· European stocks closed in positive territory on Wednesday despite tumbling bond yields stoking concerns about a global economic slowdown.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.2% higher at the closing bell, with most sectors and all major bourses in positive territory. Travel and leisure stocks led the gains, while oil and gas stocks tumbled after oil prices plummeted.
Investor focus is also still largely attuned the Chinese yuan, after China’s central bank set its currency slightly weaker than expected amid an ongoing escalation of its tit-for-tat with the U.S. The People’s Bank of China set the official midpoint reference for the yuan at 6.9996 on Wednesday, slightly weaker than expected, two days after Washington labeled Beijing a currency manipulator.
· Stocks in Asia traded mixed Thursday morning ahead of Chinese trade data, which could shed further light on the impact of Washington’s protracted trade war between Washington and Beijing.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.17% in early trade while the Topix index declined 0.12%.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi added 0.63% as shares of Hyundai Motor jumped 1.57%. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.75%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index declined 0.09%.
Reference: CNBC
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