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incoming update…Breaking News Stocks, oil slide as Chinas COVID-19 lockdowns spook investors
U.S. stocks fell as investors monitored widespread protests around COVID-19 lockdowns in China with all three of the benchmarks slipping. Those fears also dented oil which dropped over 2% to the $74 per barrel level. Posted by FOX Business Team SharePOLITICSFTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on hot seat as Senate inquiries, criminal probes move forwardCriminal and political investigations into FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried are set to heat up in the coming weeks as federal authorities seek to bring him to U.S. soil.
Lawmakers are piling onto the FTX fallout with the first of several hearings to begin this week.Posted by FOX Business Team ShareBitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin all lower in crypto tradingBitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin were all lower early Monday morning. (Getty Images)
Cryptocurrency prices edged lower early Monday with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin all showing losses.
t approximately 5 a.m. ET, Bitcoin was trading at nearly $16,210 (-1.41%), or lower by $233.
For the week, Bitcoin was trading higher by 1.09%.
For the month, the cryptocurrency was lower by nearly 19%.
Ethereum was trading at approximately $1,171 (-1.98%), or lower by more than $23.4.
For the week, Ethereum was trading higher by nearly 4.64%.
For the month, it was trading lower by approximately 21.31%.
Dogecoin was trading at $0.095437 (-3.71%), or lower by approximately $0.003672.
For the week, Dogecoin was higher by more than 28.4%. For the month, the crypto was higher by nearly 28%.Posted by FOX Business Team ShareGas, diesel prices fall overnightGasoline and diesel prices both fell overnight nationwide. (gasprices.aaa.com)
The nationwide price for a gallon of gasoline slipped Monday to $3.546. On Sunday, the price was $3.555, according to AAA. The average price of a gallon of gasoline on Saturday was $3.566.
One week ago, a gallon of gasoline cost $3.662. A month ago, that same gallon of gasoline cost $3.716. A year ago, a gallon of gasoline nationwide cost $3.394.
Gas hit an all-time high of $5.016 on June 14, approximately 25 weeks ago.
Diesel declined early Monday nationwide as well, slipping to $5.215. On Sunday, the price was $5.228, according to AAA.
One week ago, a gallon of diesel cost $5.298. A month ago, that same gallon of gasoline cost $5.308. A year ago, a gallon of gasoline cost $3.641.Posted by FOX Business Team ShareUS stock move lower after holiday-shortened Friday sessionUS stocks were lower early Monday morning after a Black Friday-shortened session to close out last week. (Associated Press)
SymbolPriceChange%ChangeI:DJI$34,347.03152.970.45SP500$4,026.12-1.14-0.03I:COMP$11,226.36-58.96-0.52
U.S. stock futures were lower early Monday morning after a mixed, shortened session on Wall Street Friday.
On Friday, when markets closed at 1 p.m. Eastern following the Thanksgiving day holiday on Thursday, the S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% to close at 4,026.12.
Nearly 70% of stocks in the benchmark index gained ground, but the broader market was dragged lower by technology companies, whose high valuations give them more heft in pushing the market higher or lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 34,347.03. The Nasdaq fell 0.5% to 11,226.36. Long-term bond yields were relatively stable but still hovered around multi-decade highs.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 3.70% from 3.69% late Wednesday. Investors remain concerned about whether the Federal Reserve can tame the hottest inflation in decades by raising interest rates without going too far and causing a recession.
The central banks benchmark rate currently stands at 3.75% to 4%, up from close to zero in March. It has warned it may have to ultimately raise rates to previously unanticipated levels to rein in high prices on everything from food to clothing.
Wall Street gets several big economic updates this week. The Conference Board business group will release its November report on consumer confidence and the U.S. government will release its closely watched monthly employment report.
Meanwhile, shares skidded in Asia on Monday, with Hong Kong briefly dipping more than 4% following weekend protests in various cities over Chinas strict zero-COVID lockdowns.
The unrest in China is the boldest show of public dissent against the ruling Communist Party in years. It followed complaints that policies aimed at eradicating the coronavirus by isolating every case might have worsened the death toll in an apartment fire in Urumqi in the northwestern Xinjiang region.
Chinas infection rate has been lower than in the United States and other countries, but the authorities are facing rising resentment over the economic and human costs of the approach known as zero-COVID” as businesses close and families are isolated for weeks with limited access to food and medicine.
For investors, when it comes to China, trying to predict with any degree the reopening certainty that has no certainty, basis, or track record to go by is looking like a dangerous game in the context of the disquietening protests and the colossal challenge Chinas leaders now have on their hands,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.1% to 17,211.76 and the Shanghai Composite index lost 1.3% to 3,061.69.
On Friday, China’s central bank sought to boost the economy by easing its reserve requirement ratio, the proportion of assets banks must hold in reserve, by a quarter percentage point to 7.8%.
The cuts are a bid to support weakening economic growth dragged down not only by COVID restrictions but also a deeper property market rout,” Mizuho Bank noted in a report. However, it said, that news was overshadowed by rising numbers of virus cases and the protests. Posted by Associated Press ShareOil prices slump amid Chinese street protests over COVIDOil prices slumped early Monday morning after Chinese protests in Shanghai over COVID zero policies. (Getty Images)
SymbolPriceChange%ChangeUSO$66.96-0.45-0.67CVX$183.70-0.54-0.29XOM$113.21-0.40-0.35
Oil prices slumped on Monday as street protests against strict COVID-19 curbs in China, the world’s biggest crude importer stoked concern about the outlook for fuel demand.
Brent crude dropped $2.43, or 2.9%, to trade at $81.20 a barrel at 0731 GMT, after diving more than 3% to $80.61 earlier in the session – its lowest since Jan. 4.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid $2.16, or 2.8%, to $74.12 a barrel. It fell as far as $73.60 earlier, its lowest since Dec. 22, 2021.
Both benchmarks, which hit 10-month lows last week, have posted three consecutive weekly declines. Brent ended the latest week down 4.6%, while WTI fell 4.7%.
“On top of growing concerns about weaker fuel demand in China due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, political uncertainty, caused by rare protests over the government’s stringent COVID restrictions in Shanghai, prompted selling,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.
WTI’s trading range is expected to fall to $70-$75, he said, adding the market could stay volatile depending on the outcome of an upcoming OPEC+ meeting on output and the level of the forthcoming G7 price cap on Russian oil.
China has stuck with President Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy even as much of the world has lifted most restrictions.
Hundreds of demonstrators and police clashed in Shanghai on Sunday night as protests over China’s strict COVID restrictions flared for a third day and spread to several cities in the wake of a deadly fire in the country’s far west.
“Bearish sentiment is growing in the oil market with mounting concerns over demand in China and a lack of clear signs from oil producers to further cut output,” said Tetsu Emori, CEO of Emori Fund Management Ic. “Unless OPEC+ agrees on a further reduction of production quota or the United States moves to reload its strategic petroleum reserves, oil prices may be headed further down,” he said.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, will meet on Dec. 4.
In October, OPEC+ agreed to reduce its output target by 2 million barrels per day through 2023. read more The next OPEC+ meeting will take into account the condition and balance of the market, Iraq’s state news agency quoted Saadoun Mohsen, a senior official at the country’s state oil marketer SOMO, as saying on Saturday.
Investors also focused on Western plans for a price cap on Russian oil. Group of Seven (G7) and European Union diplomats have been discussing a price cap on Russian oil of between $65 and $70 a barrel, with the aim of limiting revenue to fund Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine without disrupting global oil markets. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine “a special operation.”Posted by Reuters Share
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