Markets mixed as US recession risk rises

Markets were mixed on Thursday.

The S&P 500 was flat, the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.2 percent and the Nikkei 225 rose 1.0 percent.

“Investors are clinging to the recent positive news about trade negotiations, but we won’t see the end of this volatility until there is a concrete agreement in place,” said Patrick Healey, president of Caliber Financial Partners.

Meanwhile, a Reuters poll of economists showed that the risk of a US recession in the next two years has risen to 40 percent.

However, Jeff Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James, told CNBC on Thursday that the US economy is not going to slow as much as expected and that the stock market has reached a bottom. “People are underinvested” in stocks, he said.

Also on Thursday, the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged and affirmed plans to end monthly asset purchases at the end of the month.