Stock markets retreat as pressure eases to slash US rates

Stock markets retreated yesterday following strong US jobs data that reduced pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates sharply.

Losses on Asian markets were far steeper than in Europe, because investors there had already gone home for the day on Friday when the employment data from the world’s biggest economy were released and were only catching up on yesterday.

The dollar was steady against its main rivals, while oil prices flattened.

However, the greenback surged more than three percent against the Turkish lira after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sacked the head of the country’s central bank following months of tensions over high borrowing costs.

Mr Erdogan, who is battling to boost Turkey’s struggling economy, has repeatedly railed against high interest rates and called for them to be lowered to stimulate growth.

The removal of Murat Cetinkaya at the weekend fuelled speculation that the Turkish central bank would slash borrowing costs.

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