Stocks Drop, Treasuries Advance on Virus Concern: Markets Wra

 

 

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.2% as of 6:19 a.m. New York time.
• Futures on the S&P 500 Index dipped 0.4%.
• Nasdaq 100 Index futures declined 0.5%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
• The euro jumped 0.1% to $1.0799.
• The British pound advanced 0.2% to $1.2911.
• The Japanese yen strengthened 0.3% to 111.79 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.49%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield gained less than one basis point to -0.44%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield increased less than one basis point to 0.577%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1.9% to $52.83 a barrel.
• Gold strengthened 0.9% to $1,634.44 an ounce.

Here are some key events coming up:

• Earnings season rolls on, with results from Deere & Co. set for Friday.
• Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs are due to meet Feb. 22-23 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and are expected to discuss efforts to support growth amid the coronavirus threat.

U.S. equity futures dropped with shares in Europe and most of Asia on Friday amid renewed concern about the impact of the coronavirus after cases increased outside of China. Treasuries and gold advanced.

Futures on the three main American equity gauges pointed to losses at the open while equities in Korea and Hong Kong saw declines of more than 1%. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index pared declines, with losses in energy and automaker shares countering gains in utilities and real estate. Treasuries climbed, pushing the yield on 10-year securities below 1.5% for the first time since September.

The declines in stocks come as manufacturing data in Australia and Japan added to worries about slower economic growth, while weak South Korean export data weighed on the won. The dollar was little changed against a basket of major peers after a four-day winning streak. The euro strengthened after data showed economic activity in the common-currency area sped up unexpectedly.

Investors were put on alert this week by a spike in infections outside China and a slew of fresh warnings by companies over the potential impact on business. Those reignited appetite for haven assets and threatened stock gains that had propelled global equities to a record high earlier this month. Two people evacuated to Australia from a cruise ship in Japan tested positive for the coronavirus and South Korea reported a surge in infections.

“It may be a much longer road,” Dan Farley, chief investment officer of the investment solutions group at State Street Global Advisors, told Bloomberg TV in Sydney about the virus impact. “We have to be very mindful that this is not an easily solvable issue and the impact on consumer demand for a number of different sectors is going to be something that we need to be watching out for.”

Elsewhere, crude oil fell after hitting the highest in almost four weeks in the wake of a surge in U.S. exports and a dramatic slowdown in the expansion of domestic inventories. The yen rose, recouping some if its biggest two-day decline since 2017.