Global equities slipped on Tuesday following a decline on Wall Street as traders weighed Joe Biden’s nomination of Jay Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chief and the further surge of coronavirus cases across Europe
The regional Stoxx Europe 600 opened down around 0.9 per cent, with benchmarks in Germany and France each falling by around that margin. London’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.3 per cent.
The S&P and Nasdaq Composite had ended the prior day’s session down 0.3 per cent and 1.3 per cent lower respectively. Tech stocks are deemed to be more sensitive to rising interest rates, and Fed policy is expected to be more hawkish with Powell as head of the US central bank than under his mooted contender, Lael Brainard, who Biden has tapped for vice-chair.