Ahead of crucial U.S. jobs data on Friday, MSCI’s broad index of global stocks fell 0.3%.
Futures markets indicated a steady start on Wall Street after the S&P 500 index dropped 1.5% on Wednesday. Contracts tracking the S&P rose 0.2% and those on the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 share index traded flat.
MSCI’s world stock gauge remains about 4% higher for the year, as some investors have held onto robust economic data in the United States and the euro zone as a cause for optimism. This view has clashed with market repricing of interest rate expectations and bond market signals that aggressive monetary tightening raises recession risks.
“There’s a lot of mixed signals out there,” said Eren Osman, managing director of wealth management at Arbuthnot Latham, adding he was currently reluctant to take “large underweight or overweight” positions in any major asset class.
The Fed will likely need to raise interest rates…
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