U.S. Futures Drop With Europe Stocks; Bonds Rise: Markets Wrap

 

 

 

 

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the S&P 500 Index decreased 2.4% as of 8:31 a.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 3.4%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.7%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.1%.
• The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1006.
• The British pound increased 0.4% to $1.2255.
• The Japanese yen gained 0.8% to 108.69 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined seven basis points to 0.77%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield dipped nine basis points to -0.45%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield fell four basis points to 0.358%.

Commodities

• Gold decreased 0.7% to $1,620.60 an ounce.
• West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1.8% to $22.19 a barrel.

U.S. equity futures and European stocks slipped on Friday as investors caught their breath following the first three-day rally in global shares since mid-February. Treasuries climbed and the dollar edged higher.

Contracts on all three main American indexes retreated in the wake of news that the U.S. has overtaken China for the most corononavirus cases worldwide. The underlying gauges had surged a day earlier. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was led lower by banks and real estate shares after the region’s leaders struggled to agree on a concrete strategy to contain the fallout of the pandemic, leaving key details to be ironed out in the coming weeks.

Asian equities mostly rose, though shares in Australia slumped. WTI crude oil declined, setting up a fifth straight week of losses. The pound fluctuated as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he tested positive for coronavirus.

The recent revival of risk appetite looks sure to be tested by the continuing spread of the coronavirus and the crippling effect of business closures. Tokyo is now seeing a surge in cases, while global deaths from the pandemic surpassed 24,000. The Reserve Bank of India on Friday became the latest central bank to step up emergency action to cushion the economic impact.

“The market is pricing in a fairly short duration of weakness” for the economy, Priya Misra, global head of rates strategy at TD Securities, said on Bloomberg TV. “A month from now when we realize we are still stuck at home and the data is not looking any better, that is when you can get a further downside move in yields.”