Monday, February 22, 2021

World shares slide as inflation fears batter bonds, commodities surge

 Oil prices rose on a tight global supply outlook after U.S. production was hammered by frigid weather and an approaching meeting of top crude producers is expected to keep output largely in check


By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stock markets fell on Monday as expectations of faster growth and quickening inflation battered bonds, boosted commodities and led to a further rotation out of the big tech names that have driven the equity rally during the pandemic.

Gold rose more than 1% and copper prices shot above $9,000 a tonne for the first time since 2011 on the prospect for inflation and growth, while the dollar slumped to multi-year lows against the British pound and the Australian dollar.

Oil prices rose on a tight global supply outlook after U.S. production was hammered by frigid weather and an approaching meeting of top crude producers is expected to keep output largely in check.

Investors, who have been buying economically sensitive cyclical stocks and selling growth stocks, are preparing for a potential spike in inflation with the U.S. Congress poised to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic-related economic stimulus bill.

"What we're seeing are expectations really growing that we're going to have a return (to) normalcy a lot sooner, and that's driving the cyclical rotation," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York.

High-growth stocks, including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Tesla Inc and Amazon.com, pulled the Nasdaq down and weighed on the S&P 500.

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