European stocks retreated after benchmark indexes in the US and China failed to sustain intraday rallies. The yen weakened and industrial metals fell.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped after the Shanghai Composite Index erased a gain of as much as 4.3% to close lower for a fifth straight day. US equity-index futures rose, following a final-hour slump in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index on Tuesday. Japan’s currency weakened a second day after the People’s Bank of China cut interest rates and reduced the amount of reserves banks need to hold. The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell.
“The struggle between gains and losses suggests that the market doesn’t really know what to make of the policy move yet,” said Bernard Aw, a strategist at IG Asia Pte Ltd. in Singapore. “There might be a chance we could see some consolidation in the markets before investors are confident enough to push higher. This view holds barring any other shocks, such as Fed rate hike in September.”
Chinese stocks endured their worst four-day rout since 1996 as the government removed unprecedented support for equities to focus on shoring up economic growth. Concern that policy makers are struggling to prevent a hard landing in the world’s second-largest economy has convulsed global markets, triggering a rush from all but the safest of assets.
The Stoxx 600 dropped 2.6% in London, with all 19 industry groups falling at least 1.4%. Europe’s benchmark equity gauge surged 4.2% Tuesday to snap a four-day, 12% slide.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.6%, also erasing gains. TheShanghai Composite fell as much as 3.9% before rebounding as much as 4.3%. The measure changed direction at least 10 times Wednesday.
Futures on the S&P 500 tracked the gyrations, rising as much as 1.7% before paring gains. The 120-day correlation between the contracts and the movement of China’s benchmark stock gauge rising to a record.
