Pressure emerged for European stocks, but more notably for Nasdaq-100 futures on Friday, as Treasury yields resumed their climb.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index
SXXP,
-0.46%
fell 0.5% to 423.13 after a four-session winning streak. The German DAX
DAX,
-0.57%
dropped 0.3%, while the French CAC 40
PX1,
-0.10%
and FTSE 100 indexes
UKX,
-0.22%
were flat. The euro
EURUSD,
-0.59%
and pound
GBPUSD,
-0.58%
fell against the dollar
DXY,
+0.54%,
which strengthened across the board.
A familiar scenario was emerging for investors, with Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
-1.71%
dropping more than 1% as the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury
TMUBMUSD10Y,
1.610%
rose 6 basis points to 1.58%, a day after dipping below 1.5% for the first time in a week. Dow futures
YM00,
-0.09%
dipped and S&P 500 futures
ES00,
-0.59%
fell 0.5%.
European and U.S. stocks climbed Thursday after President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law, and the European Central Bank said it would speed up its bond buying plan as it continues to battle the effects of the pandemic on economies.
Read: The ECB just fired back against rising bond yields, catching traders off guard
While the ECB’s stance spurred gains for the region’s bonds on Thursday, those assets were under some pressure again Friday. The 10-year German government bond yield
TMBMKDE-10Y,
-0.310%
rose 2 basis points to negative 0.308%. The yield on the 10-year U.K. gilt
TMBMKGB-10Y,
0.791%
rose 4 basis points to 0.781%. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices.
Data showed the U.K. economy shrank 2.9% in January, with weakness led by the services sector amid lockdowns and as new Brexit trading arrangements hit exports, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.
Among stocks on the move, tech weakness was showing up in Europe, with shares of ASML Holding
ASML,
+4.03%
ASML,
-2.11%
and STMicroelectronics
STM,
+4.36%
STM,
-1.82%
each down at least 1%.
Burberry
BRBY,
+8.28%
shares jumped 7% after the luxury-goods group forecast fiscal 2021 revenue and adjusted operating profit to come in ahead of expectations.
