Dow set to tumble 300 points on a scary sign from the bond market

The Dow and the broader US stock market are headed for another wild day on Wednesday.

After a one-day respite, panic has reignited over trade. The 10-year US government bond yield tumbled near a three-year low of 1.6298%, as investors pour money into bonds out of fear the trade war could stunt global growth.

Gold was also a big winner Wednesday as investors sought safe assets. Prices edged toward $1,500 an ounce for the first time since 2013. Gold is up nearly 17% this year and rose 1.4% on Wednesday.

Futures for the Dow are down 0.5%, while those for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are 0.5% and 0.4% lower, respectively.

Stock futures were in positive territory earlier but slipped as the yield on US Treasuries fell throughout the morning. Global central banks’ rate cuts are helping fuel bond buying too.

Overnight, both the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Reserve Bank of India delivered steeper than expected rate cuts. Further easing from the Federal Reserve could even push the gold price past $1,650, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a note.

Monday was the worst day of the year for stocks, but the three stock benchmarks snapped a streak of multiday losses Tuesday.