💎 Fed’s first rate cut since 2020 set to trigger market. Find undervalued gems with Fair ValueSee Undervalued Stocks

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks dive, safe-havens rise on new bailout plan

Published 02/10/2009, 04:41 PM
Updated 02/10/2009, 04:48 PM
US500
-
CSGN
-
UBSN
-

* Global stocks slip as U.S. bank plan disappoints

* Government debt jumps on flight to safety bid

* Dollar, yen gain after Treasury's rescue package

* Oil falls on stimulus package concerns, demand forecast (Adds close of U.S. markets)

By Vivianne Rodrigues and Herbert Lash

NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - A revamped U.S. Treasury plan to shore up the ailing U.S. banking system failed to inspire investors on Tuesday, who drove stocks sharply lower and bid up the price of safe havens like bonds, the dollar and gold.

The Dow shed 380 points and the benchmark S&P 500 index tumbled almost 5 percent after the Treasury rolled out a financial rescue plan worth possibly more than $2 trillion to mop up bad bank assets and revive consumer lending.

But investors were disappointed that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner provided scant details about the highly anticipated plan, and stock markets sold off.

Oil fell 5 percent to below $38 a barrel on concerns the Treasury plan and an $838 billion stimulus package passed in the U.S. Senate came too late to stem a deep recession.

Gold shot above $900 an ounce while the dollar and yen gained as investors took shelter in both currencies.

Analysts said they were disappointed that the Treasury plan appeared thin on details, particularly its focus on a public and private partnership to rid ailing banks of billions of dollars worth of tainted assets.

"There is an inability to price these assets in a way that is acceptable, so we're kind of where we were over a year ago," said Stephen Wood, senior portfolio strategist at Russell Investments in New York.

The KBW Banks index <.BKX> tumbled 13.9 percent and the S&P financial index <.GSPF> slid 10.9 percent.

Geithner did not provide enough "new information and maybe that is what the market doesn't like. There was a grand build-up, but content was not as dramatic," Wood said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 382.39 points, or 4.62 percent, to 7,888.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 42.75 points, or 4.91 percent, at 827.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 66.83 points, or 4.20 percent, at 1,524.73.

European shares closed lower. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares ended down 2.9 percent at 805.94 points, also stirred by mixed reaction to a roughly $7 billion fourth-quarter net loss from Swiss bank UBS .

MSCI's all country index <.MIWD00000PUS> fell 3.6 percent, while overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei stock average <.N225> slipped 0.3 percent to close at 7,945.94.

As investors turned away from riskier assets such as stocks, demand for U.S. Treasuries rose.

"Given all this time they (U.S. policy-makers) still don't have anything very specific nailed down," said Carl Lantz, U.S. interest rate strategist at Credit Suisse in New York, adding "that's going to be a disappointment for risky assets and it's good for the bond market."

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 42/32 in price to yield 2.84 percent, while the 2-year U.S. Treasury note gained 6/32 in price yield 0.91 percent.

Euro-zone government bond futures extended gains, drawing a safety bid in reaction to the U.S. Treasury Department's plan.

March Bund futures were up 68 ticks on the day at 122.38 after trading around 122.12 before details of the plan.

Crude fell after the U.S. Energy Information Administration revised down its 2009 global oil demand forecast by 400,000 barrels per day from its previous outlook, predicting demand will fall by 1.17 million bpd this year from 2008 levels.

U.S. crude fell $2.01 to settle at $37.55 a barrel. London Brent settled down $1.41 at $44.61 a barrel.

The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> up 0.96 percent at 85.695.

The euro fell 0.95 percent at $1.2886. Against the yen, the dollar fell 1.29 percent to 90.28.

The low-yielding dollar and yen are typically viewed as safe-haven currencies with low volatility. When stocks drop and the risk barometer shoots up, investors repatriate funds and close out losing risky trades funded by these two currencies.

Spot gold prices rose $20.95 to $915.45 an ounce. (Additional reporting by Glenn Somerville in Washington, Ellis Mnyandu, Burton Frierson, Matthew Robinson and Nick Olivari in New York and Joanne Frearson in London; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.