Who's impressed by U.S. President Barack Obama's job-creation proposals? Not the stock market. U.S. stock futures fell, and European and Asian equities sank, while U.S. Treasuries and German Bunds rose after he outlined steps to boost economic growth.
Dow futures dipped 0.4 per cent, or 46 points, to 11,177, while S&P 500 futures were down 0.6 per cent, or 6.5 points, at 1,173.50 about two and a half hours before Wall Street opened for business.
Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.7 per cent, France's CAC 40 1.4 per cent and Germany's DAX 1.2 per cent. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.6 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.2 per cent.
Investors are concerned that U.S. policymakers are not taking urgent steps to stop the world's biggest economy from tipping back into recession. Mr. Obama's $447-billion (U.S.) package of tax cuts and spending plans to boost employment may never even make it through Congress.
The market is now watching G7 finance ministers and central bankers meeting later on Friday to discuss the flagging global recovery and Europe's sovereign debt crisis.
German Bund futures jumped almost one full point to a record high of 137.44 and benchmark U.S. T-note yields hovered within a hair of 1.908 per cent, the lowest level in 60 years, hit on Tuesday.
Gold, which had surged 3 per cent in the previous session, dipped 1.3 per cent to $1,833 an ounce.
U.S. crude oil fell $1.41 to $87.64 a barrel.
The Canadian dollar sank to $1.0069 (U.S.).