LONDON (Reuters) - Shares were on their way to the longest losing streak of the year on Wednesday, as an advance in U.S. bond yields beyond 3 percent and warnings from top global firms about rising costs fed fears a boom in earnings may have peaked.
All eyes will be on scandal-hit social media firm Facebook (FB.O) later when it reports its results, though there was plenty to keep investors occupied till then.
Falls in Asia’s and then Europe’s main bourses had pushed the 47-country MSCI world share index .MIWD00000PUS down for a fifth day running to its lowest level for more than two weeks.[.EU]
Tech-heavy Taiwan shares .TWII had hit two-month lows as worries about a slowdown in gadget demand spread, while oil firms .SXEP also eased as crude prices LCOc1 came off 3-1/2 year highs. [O/R]
Wall Street looked set to follow suit [.N] as the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield continued to push above 3 percent US10YT=RR, having broken the psychologically key level on Tuesday for the first time since the start of 2014. [US/]
It has been down to a mix of factors. A strong U.S. economy and rising commodity prices which are increasing the chance of more U.S. interest rate hikes, as well higher debt and improving relations between Washington and China and North Korea.
“The now healthier global economy justifies these higher yields,” JPMorgan Asset Management’s Seamus Mac Gorain said.
“We expect 10-year Treasuries (yields) to end the year between 3 and 3-1/2 percent. A move beyond this level would likely require an acceleration of inflation in the euro zone and Japan, which
