GLOBAL MARKETS-Global stock index dips with dollar higher, precious metals mixed

BY Reuters | ECONOMIC | 02/04/26 12:34 PM EST

(Updates prices to U.S. trading session)

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Global shares dip, software stocks hit by AI-led disruption

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Precious metals bounce back after rout

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Oil edges red, focus on US-Iran tensions

By Sin?ad Carew and Amanda Cooper

NEW YORK/ LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - MSCI's global equities gauge fell on Wednesday with technology stocks leading losses on Wall Street, while the dollar broadly rose after the latest U.S. economic data and in precious metals silver outperformed gold following a recent plunge. Oil prices were modestly lower. They had spiked on Tuesday after the United States shot down an Iranian drone and armed boats approached a ?U.S.-flagged vessel in a key waterway, all while the U.S. and Iran worked on setting up talks to ease tensions.

U.S. Treasury yields lost a little steam initially following ADP's national employment report, which showed slower-than-expected growth in January. ?Private employment rose by 22,000 jobs after a downwardly revised 37,000 increase in December and compared with economists' forecasts for a 48,000 jobs advance.

The Institute for Supply ?Management said the U.S. services sector held steady in January, but businesses paid more for inputs, suggesting that services inflation could ?pick up after being on a slowing ?trend in recent months. After the data, traders were still betting that the Federal Reserve's next rate cut would not come until June, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

"The data this morning are not too hot, ?not too cold and (it) doesn't really change the outlook as it relates to the ?Fed or the direction of the economy," said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments.

Value stocks were outperforming growth stocks on Wall Street, where market action has been dominated in recent days by a selloff in global providers of data analytics, professional services and ?software following Anthropic's launch of plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent on Friday, ?which raised worries about AI-fuelled ?disruption to those industries. On Wednesday, the U.S. software and services index was down 0.4% after a drop of more than 12% in the last five days.

"There were some valuation concerns there on the software side. There's a sort-of resetting there. The healthy thing that's going on is the broadening ?of market participation and this rotation into value," said Roland.

The S&P 500 value index was up 0.9% while the growth index was down 1.3%.

At 11:32 a.m. (1632 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 366.30 points, or 0.75%, to 49,609.86, the S&P 500 fell 17.53 points, or 0.25%, to 6,900.54 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 260.89 points, or 1.12%, to 22,995.54.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 2.45 points, or 0.23%, to 1,041.53. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.15%.

In commodities, gold prices fell while silver was higher, with both losing some steam from earlier in the session, as attention remained on geopolitical developments and the next U.S. economic releases, which could shape expectations ?for future interest rate ?moves. Both precious metals had risen on Tuesday after a vicious two-day meltdown triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump announcing Kevin Warsh as his pick to lead the Federal Reserve. Some investors see Warsh shrinking the Fed's balance sheet, which would put pressure on non-yielding precious metals.

Spot gold fell 0.41% ?to $4,918.06 an ounce. Spot silver rose 1.6% to $86.48 an ounce.

In fixed income markets, traders were assessing the data from private providers while they waited on delayed economic releases from government sources and continued to evaluate the impact that Warsh might have on monetary policy.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 0.3 basis points to 4.276%, from 4.273% late on Tuesday, while the 30-year bond yield rose 0.9 basis points to 4.9149%.

The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 0.9 basis points to 3.564%. In currencies, the dollar rose against the yen on Wednesday, pushing the Japanese currency towards its fourth consecutive daily decline ahead of elections expected to boost Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's fiscal and defence spending ambitions.

The dollar ?index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.28% to 97.68, with the euro down 0.18% at $1.1797.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.61% to 156.68. Sterling weakened 0.31% to $1.3655.

In energy markets, oil prices were slightly lower as traders monitored geopolitical events and digested the latest data.

U.S. crude rose 0.02% to $63.22 a barrel and Brent rose to $67.45 per barrel, up ?0.18% on the day.

In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.

Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.

Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.

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