World stocks down on fears US-China trade-talk setbacks will undermine global growth
London — Investors sold equities on Wednesday and raced to buy yen and government bonds from the US and Germany on fears that setbacks to US-China trade talks would undermine increasingly fragile-looking world growth. The yen rose 1% against the dollar, US bond yields fell to eight-day lows, and world shares slipped 0.5% from one-week highs as weak eurozone data added to negative sentiment after US President Donald Trump’s comments on the crucial trade talks. Investors were also watching Turkey and Italy, with the former seemingly headed for a full-blown crisis as the currency plunged to new record lows. Italian borrowing-costs resumed their rise back towards recent multi-month highs on fears an incoming coalition will sharply boost government spending. The risk-off mood was initially triggered by Trump saying he was not pleased with progress on trade talks with China. The comments tempered earlier optimism that China and the US would be able to avert a damaging global trade war. US...
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