Global Stocks Fall Ahead of Fed Rate Hike

World shares fell on Wednesday and the dollar eased off three-week highs as markets awaited a likely increase in U.S. interest rates and guidance on how many more to expect for this year.

Markets were also spooked by signs of a brewing global trade war – a Wall Street Journal report saying China was planning counter-measures against U.S. trade tariffs. European shares fell and investors scurried for the safety of German government bonds and the Japanese yen.

And equity futures indicated that U.S. stocks, which have been roiled by a hefty selloff in technology shares this week, are set for another weak session ESC1.

The selloff wiped some $50 billion off the value of social media giant Facebook (FB.O), leaving investors on edge as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise U.S. rates for the first time this year.

The Facebook losses, caused by uproar over the alleged misuse of user data, have filtered through the tech sector, with shares in Twitter (TWTR.N) falling more than 10 percent on Tuesday.

via Reuters

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