Global markets tumble; U.S. stock futures point to continued selloff on Wall Street

Global stocks were under pressure Thursday, with U.S. stock-index futures pointing to continued selling on the heels of a more than 800-point plunge for the Dow industrials a day earlier. The broad market rout that extended into Asia came after investors got spooked by rising bond yields and the prospect of U.S. interest rates heading higher.

European equities kicked off the day with sharp losses. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index SXXP, -1.42% fell 1.3% to 362.10. The U.K. FTSE 100 UKX, -1.31% fell 1.2%, while France’s CAC 40 stock index PX1, -1.37% shed 1.1% and Germany’s DAX DAX, -1.14% lost 0.9%. Asian markets picked up the baton from Wall Street, with Japan’s Nikkei NIK, -3.89% tumbling nearly 4% and the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -5.22% off more than 5%. Taiwan stocks fared even worse, with the Y9999, -6.31% down 5.7%, putting it at its lowest levels since May 2017.

Across other assets, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices CLX8, -1.16% slumped 0.9% to 72.4 a barrel, while gold GCZ8, +0.63% was up 0.5% to $1,199.80 an ounce. Investors were also monitoring any risks to energy infrastructure as Hurricane Michael battered Florida’s Panhandle. The ICE U.S. dollar index DXY, -0.11% fell 0.2%, with Japanese yen USDJPY, -0.02% strengthening. The yen is often seen as a haven in times of financial and economic uncertainty. The euro EURUSD, +0.2344% and British pound GBPUSD, +0.0076% were also stronger against the dollar, following on from strength in those two rival currencies on Wednesday.