(Reuters) – European stock index futures fell on Wednesday, in line with a sell-off in Asian markets, as a relentless surge in global bond yields and an intensifying energy crisis in the region fuelled worries about a recession.
The EURO STOXX 50 index futures fell 0.7%, as of 0614 GMT, while Germany’s DAX futures lost 0.9%, taking cues from Wall Street which sank deeper into a bear market overnight. [.N]
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields topped 4% on Wednesday, their highest in 12 years, and the dollar resumed its climb, as markets feared the Federal Reserve might have to take rates past 4.5% in its crusade against inflation.
London’s FTSE 100 index futures dipped 0.8% after Moody’s warned that unfunded UK tax cuts would be “negative” for the country’s credit standing, deepening a sell-off in gilts.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions intensified as Europe investigated what Germany, Denmark and Sweden said were attacks which had caused major leaks into the Baltic Sea from two Nord Stream pipelines at the centre of an energy standoff.
A survey showed on Wednesday German consumer morale is projected to hit a record low in October as high inflation rates and rocketing energy bills show no signs of relenting.
(Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
