Markets recovered slightly on Wednesday after news that Credit Suisse would borrow up to 50 billion francs ($53.7 billion) from the Swiss central bank as a means of stabilizing its financial predicament. Credit Suisse shares fell by 24% on Wednesday following the bank’s announcement that it would seek institutional support.
European futures rose on Thursday morning by 2%, while contracts on the S&P 500 gained 0.5%. Asian markets, in contrast, experienced widespread declines, with MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan falling by 1% to its lowest this year. Japan’s bank shares were hit by a 4% decline while the Nikkei was 1.3% lower on Thursday morning.
In addition to banking institutions, insurers, miners, and consumer stocks were among the hardest hit during the morning session. In contrast, U.S. bonds have strengthened, with two-year U.S. Treasuries en route to hitting their best week since 1987.
The euro stood at $1.0601 during the morning session, while the yen rose approximately 0.5% to 132.75 per dollar. The New Zealand dollar fell 0.4% to $0.6161.