Global stocks lower on growth worries, Fed jitters
Source: AP-EXCITE
By JOE McDONALD
BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks sank Wednesday under the weight of worries about the possible timing of a U.S. rate hike, economic weakness in China and an impending referendum on Scottish independence.
KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC-40 shed 0.4 percent to 4,436.64 and Germany's DAX lost 0.7 percent to 9,639.44. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.4 percent to 6,801.01. Wall Street looked set for more losses, with futures for the Dow Jones industrial average and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 both off 0.2 percent. On Tuesday, the Dow suffered its biggest one-day decline in a month.
THE FED: Investors are looking more closely at the U.S. Federal Reserve and whether it might raise its benchmark interest rate sooner than expected. In a paper this week, two San Francisco Fed economists said the public appears to expect a "more accommodative policy" than Fed board members. With the Fed's Open Market Committee due to meet next week, Mizuho Bank warned "markets may be overlooking the risks that the Fed raises its key rate earlier" than expected.
CHINA'S STRUGGLE: Growth is under pressure after manufacturing activity decelerated in August and imports unexpectedly shrank by 2.4 percent in a reflection of sluggish domestic demand. The top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, said Tuesday that growth was still on track despite "short-term fluctuations," according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
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FILE - This April 22, 2010, file photo, shows a Wall Street sign in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stock markets were subdued on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, but the dollar hit a six-year high against the yen on investor expectations the Federal Reserve will end stimulus and raise interest rates in coming months. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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