Stock markets fall as Biden drops out of US presidential race

With US President Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 race for the White House, stock markets worldwide, including in Asia, may see a volatile period ahead, experts said on Monday. The news has injected uncertainty into the outlook for markets at an increasingly critical juncture.

The US stock market finished down on Friday, with the tech sector under pressure last week. The S&P 500’s tech sector fell a sharp 1.3 per cent, deepening its weekly slump to 5.1 per cent. “The market is expected to remain volatile. Hold your positions with a trailing stop-loss. Any dip will be a buying opportunity as the overall trend remains bullish,” said analysts.

Asia-Pacific stock markets fell this morning, with Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s S&P 200 slipping up to 0.5 per cent.

“Asian stocks fell after Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. The question for investors is whether to stick with Trump trade now that Biden has dropped his bid for reelection,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

Online betting site PredictIT showed pricing for a victory by Trump had fallen 3 cents to 61 cents, while Harris climbed 11 cents to 38 cents. China’s central bank unexpectedly cut a key policy rate to support the country’s ailing economy, just days after a flurry of data showed that a lopsided recovery might have lost some steam.

“China released a policy document on Sunday, outlining known ambitions, from developing advanced industries to improving the business environment, with analysts spotting no sign of imminent structural shifts in the world’s second biggest economy,” said Jasani.

(With inputs from IANS)