Jitters over bond rout might persist

A NAIL-BITING, volatile session may await the local bourse, with persistent fears over the bond rout coupled with a dramatic selloff in Wall Street last Friday, as traders closely watch several data events this week.

US stocks capped their worst week in two years, as volatility heightened and jitters ratcheted up over the rise in government bond yields and inflation worries amid the idea that the US Federal Reserve and other central banks might have to raise rates.

The Dow Jones was down 4 per cent on the week. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 2.1 per cent last Friday, also ending its worst week in two years, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.96 per cent to its lowest level in two weeks. Strong data on jobs and wage growth stoked further fears that the Fed may raise rates more quickly than has been expected. Market watchers struggled to put the bearish trend in perspective, pointing at the heady run-up in equities until this point.