Financial Markets Daily Report 23 February 2021
The sell-off in the US bond market continued on Monday as worries about inflation erode expected bond returns. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose 3 basis points to 1.37%. These worries also hit Asian markets, where Japan's 10-year yields rose to 0.13% and Australia's rose to its highest level since June 2019 (1.61%).
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- The sell-off in the US bond market continued on Monday as worries about inflation erode expected bond returns. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose 3 basis points to 1.37%. These worries also hit Asian markets, where Japan's 10-year yields rose to 0.13% and Australia's rose to its highest level since June 2019 (1.61%).
- Stock markets also declined in the US, led by a sharp fall in technology stocks as overvaluation worries rise. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.5%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.8%.
- In Europe, ECB President Christine Lagarde said that the ECB was closely monitoring long-term yields and reiterated its commitment to maintain favourable monetary conditions throughout the pandemic. Government bond yields dropped across the continent. Meanwhile, German's Ifo Business Climate Index rose to 92.4 in February (from 90.3).
- In oil markets, optimism about the global economic recovery pushed Brent prices up 3.7% to $65.2.