【今日短语】
on the back foot
To be on the back foot means to be put in a defensive position, to be in retreat, to be knocked off balance. Primarily used in British English, on the back foot is a phrase that is most probably derived from the sport of cricket.
"Messi's early goal put Milan on the back foot"
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原文如下：
The day in the markets
by George Steer
(来自：The Financial Time 金融时报)
What you need to know
• Wall Street stocks slip as investors assess pace of rate rises
• Core government bonds come under heavy selling pressure
• European equities edge higher after two straight weeks of falls
US stocks and global fixed income markets slipped yesterday, extending a drop last week sparked by a fresh round of interest rate rises and hawkish comments from central bankers.
The benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.5 per cent by lunchtime trading while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index slipped 1.1 per cent to start the last full trading week of the year on the back foot — as investors assessed the pace and scale of interest rate rises to come.
The US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and the Bank of England all pushed interest rates higher by 0.5 percentage points last week, a step down in the pace of increases.
However, they stood firm on their plans to continue their attempt to slow price growth with the ECB saying “inflation remains far too high”.
Their warnings that further interest rate rises are needed to bring record inflation under control sent global stock markets lower last week.
Fixed income markets were also under selling pressure yesterday.
The 10-year UK gilt yield jumped 17 basis points to 3.50 per cent while the equivalent US Treasury yield gained 11bp to 3.59 per cent.
Elsewhere in equities, the pan-regional Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.3 per cent while Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax advanced 0.4 per cent. London’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.4 per cent.
The gains yesterday for the European benchmark came after two straight weeks of falls.
“The market doesn’t believe the Fed with a pricing disconnect now opening up,” wrote Jim Reid, head of global fundamental credit strategy at Deutsche Bank. “The market is now worried the ECB has upped its level of hawkishness,” he added.
Some economists say inflation may have peaked in the UK, US and Europe but are considering the extent to which the factors pushing prices higher will continue into the new year — and whether economies will flash warning signs of distress, such as through higher unemployment figures.
“Markets are likely to continue to trade the peak US inflation narrative into year-end,” said Jordan Rochester, G10 FX strategist at Nomura.
In currency markets, the pound gained 0.3 per cent against the dollar to $1.218.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.5 per cent while the CSI 300 index of Shanghai and Shenzhen stocks slid 1.5 per cent.
