Title : Stocks drift, dollar firms as growth fears stifle sentiment

Aug 16, 2022 07:07AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

European stocks rose slowly on Tuesday as investors sought safety in defensive names, while risk aversion also lifted the dollar haven after weak economic data from China and the U.S. stoked fears of a global recession.

The dollar briefly hit a one-week high as investors returned to the greenback after abandoning the greenback last week following weaker-than-expected U.S. inflation data, while the Australian dollar, euro and Chinese yuan eased.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.03�ter gains earlier in the day.

MSCI's benchmark index has gained 5% from the year's lows but is still down 15% this year.

Just as investors were buoyed by the four-week rally in global equities, which pushed markets to their highest in more than three months, weak Chinese activity data covering industrial production and retail sales weighed on sentiment.

Bond markets, meanwhile, continued to struggle amid fears of inflation and recession, which are particularly acute in the eurozone.

The yield on German 10-year bonds, the eurozone benchmark, rose 3 basis points (bps) to 0.932%, remaining below the two-week high of 1.025% reached last Friday.

The US economy contracted in the first and second quarters, widening the debate over whether the country is, or will soon be, in recession.

The euro, the most heavily weighted currency in the dollar index, fell 0.28% to 1.01305.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars were on the defensive on fragile global data.

The market was pending talks on reviving a deal that could allow Iran to export more oil.

WTI crude futures gave up 0.98% to $88.52 a barrel.

Spot gold dipped slightly to $1,775.6 an ounce as a stronger dollar dented the bullion's appeal and investors were looking ahead to future rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.