September got off to a bumpy start as persistent worries about rising global interest rates and recessions hounded stock and bond markets on Thursday and drove the safe-haven U.S. dollar to a 24-year high against the yen.
Near 1% falls in London (.FTSE), Frankfurt (.GDAXI), Paris (.FCHI) and Milan (.FTMIB) pushed the STOXX 600 (.STOXX) to its lowest since mid-July and bond market selling continued after the biggest monthly rout in decades.
The bearishness was being fed by the possibility that the European Central Bank will raise its policy rate by a record 75 basis points next week following Wednesday’s record high inflation reading.
Heavy shelling at Ukraine’s giant Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant rattled nerves too. Russia had shut its main gas pipe to Europe for maintenance, while veteran investor Jeremy Grantham warned of an “epic finale” to the stock market “superbubble” inflated by years of cheap money.