Yen firms on BoJ, Spain debt fears
Investors seeking safety drove the yen to multi-week highs against the dollar and the euro on Tuesday as rising Spanish and Italian bond yields underscored worries about the global economy and the Bank of Japan said it was not considering more monetary stimulus.
Investors fled from assets perceived as riskier, such as the euro and equities, on worries that global growth could remain sluggish as the euro zone continues to struggle with its persistent debt crisis.
The euro fell to its lowest against the yen in nearly seven weeks, flirting with its biggest single-day loss against the Japanese currency in five weeks.
The dollar touched a better than one-month low against the yen, tracking its fifth straight session of losses.
Further increasing the appeal of safe havens such as the yen and U.S. Treasuries, Spanish bond yields rose to within a whisker of 6 percent and German Bund yields equaled their lowest-ever levels on Tuesday, reflecting worries about the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares closed on Tuesday at its lowest since mid-January.
The dollar sank as low as 80.65 yen <JPY=>, its weakest since early March, according to Reuters data. The greenback more recently traded at 80.70 yen, eroding support at the 50-day simple moving average of 80.78 yen.
The euro also slumped against the yen, hitting an almost seven-week low of 105.47 yen before recovering slightly to trade off 1.22 percent to 105.52 <EURJPY=>.
Dow, S&P fall for fifth day, but Alcoa up late
The selloff in U.S. stocks accelerated on Tuesday, as the Dow and S&P 500 dropped for a fifth day, with the pullback coming on the cusp of earnings season.
The slide marked the S&P 500's worst day since Dec. 8. The declines were the largest losses this year in terms of both points and percentage drops for each of the three major U.S. stock indexes.
All S&P 500 sectors ended solidly lower, with industrial and materials names suffering the biggest drops. About 80 percent of shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market ended lower.
The major U.S. stock indexes each fell more than 1.5 percent, pushing the S&P 500 below its 50-day moving average of 1,372.30, an area viewed as a significant support level that will make or break the current uptrend.
The Nasdaq also slid below its 50-day moving average and closed below 3,000 for the first time since March 12.
Concerns about European debt have resurfaced and could be a catalyst for further declines as the yields on riskier Italian and Spanish debt climbed. U.S.-listed shares of Banco Santander <STD.N> fell 3 percent to $6.51.
Dow component Alcoa Inc <AA.N> climbed 5.4 percent to $9.82 in extended trading after the aluminum maker reported its quarterly results.
With 5 percent of the S&P 500 components having already reported, profits are seen rising 3.1 percent in the quarter, according to the Thomson Reuters Director's Report.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> lost 213.66 points, or 1.65 percent, to 12,715.93 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 23.61 points, or 1.71 percent, to 1,358.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> tumbled 55.86 points, or 1.83 percent, to 2,991.22.
Gold rises 1.2 pct, breaks ranks with equities
Gold rose 1 percent on Tuesday, breaking ranks with equities for a second session, as sharp losses in equities triggered safe-haven buying in the bullion market, which had sustained a recent sell-off.
The precious metal posted its fourth straight daily rise, its longest streak in two months. Some investors took advantage of the lower prices to re-enter the gold trade. Gold had a sharp price pullback during a recent strong run of U.S. data that dashed hopes of U.S. monetary easing.
Bullion rose along with safe-haven U.S. Treasury debt prices. Buying accelerated after the U.S. equities benchmark S&P 500 broke below key support before the start of the first-quarter earning season. Technical and options-related buying in gold also helped.
Spot gold <XAU=> was up 1.2 percent at $1,660.20 an ounce by 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), its biggest one-day rise in more than two weeks.
The metal also rebounded from heavy early losses to set a one-week high of $1,662.60 triggering some momentum buying.
U.S. gold futures <GCM2> for June delivery settled up $16.80 at $1,660.70.