(Recasts with U.S. markets open; changes byline, dateline;
previous LONDON))
By Suzanne Barlyn
NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - Global equity markets were
little changed on Tuesday and Wall Street opened slightly lower
as investors paused to gauge whether a bond yield jump had run
its course, while they monitored progress on the next U.S.
fiscal stimulus.
The subdued opening followed a nearly flat close in Europe
and slipping shares in Asia.
Investors are in a wait-and-see mode because of a lull in
big market-moving events, said Tim Murray, a T. Rowe Price
capital markets strategist.
"The news is trickling at this point," said Murray, noting
that investors are also bracing for possible market surprises
related to COVID vaccines and variants.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 91.89 points,
or 0.29%, to 31,443.62, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 21.45 points, or
0.55%, to 3,880.37 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
125.55 points, or 0.92%, to 13,463.28.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.36% while
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS shed
0.30%.
The European Central Bank should expand bond purchases or
even increase the quota earmarked for them if needed to keep
yields down, ECB board member Fabio Panetta said on Tuesday,
after weeks of steady increases in borrowing costs. Emerging market stocks lost 0.16%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.19%
lower, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 lost 0.86%.
Investors will scrutinize speeches from U.S. Federal Reserve
officials in coming days for messaging on trends in yields,
starting with Lael Brainard at 1 p.m. ET/1800 GMT on Tuesday.
U.S. stocks .N rallied on Monday, with the S&P 500 .SPX
posting its best day in nearly nine months, as bond markets
calmed after a month-long selloff.
A Treasuries selloff last week pushed the 10-year Treasury
yield US10YT=RR to a one-year high of 1.614%. Benchmark
10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 8/32 in price to yield
1.4205%, from 1.446% late on Monday.
The dollar was up for a fourth consecutive day on Tuesday
after the spike in bond yields challenged the market consensus
for dollar weakness in 2021. But riskier currencies rose as bond
markets calmed and stocks recovered. The dollar index =USD fell 0.158%, with the euro EUR= up
0.17% to $1.2068.
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP fell 0.73% to $48,525.92 after rising
nearly 7% on Monday.
Shares in mainland China and Hong Kong fell overnight after
a top regulatory official expressed concerns about the risk of
bubbles bursting in foreign markets. "Financial markets are trading at high levels in Europe, the
U.S. and other developed countries, which runs counter to the
real economy," Guo Shuqing, head of the China Banking and
Insurance Regulatory Commission, told a news conference.
Analysts said the market pause was to be expected after last
week's moves in bonds.
Spot gold XAU= added added 0.2% to $1,726.96 an ounce.
U.S. gold futures GCc1 fell 0.12% to $1,720.50 an ounce.
Oil prices largely shrugged off expectations that OPEC would
agree to raise oil supplies at a meeting this week.
The global oil market is rebalancing after damage to demand
wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was met with curbs on output by
OPEC producers, the group's president said on Tuesday.
"Crude prices are relatively stable... we see a certain
balance between demand and supply," OPEC President Diamantino
Azevedo told Reuters in an interview. U.S. crude CLc1 recently rose 0.36% to $60.86 per barrel
and Brent LCOc1 was at $63.84, up 0.24% on the day.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>