U.S. Futures, Europe Stocks Edge Down; Bonds Rise: Markets Wrap

 

 

 

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the S&P 500 Index decreased 0.2% as of 6:18 a.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2%.
• Nasdaq 100 Index futures dipped 0.3%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.3%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped 0.1%.
• The British pound was little changed at $1.2986.
• The euro was steady at $1.1133.
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.96 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 1.83%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.17%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.726%.
• Japan’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.016%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.4% to $58.32 a barrel.
• Gold dipped 0.1% to $1,545.81 an ounce.
• Silver weakened 0.9% to $17.80 per ounce.
• LME nickel declined 2.6% to $13,725 per metric ton.

Here are some events to watch for this week:

• Phase one of the U.S.-China trade deal is set to be signed on Wednesday in Washington.
• The biggest American financial institutions kick off earnings season, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and BlackRock Inc.
• The U.S. releases inflation data for December on Tuesday.
• The Fed’s so-called beige book is due on Wednesday.
• China GDP comes on Friday.

American equity-index futures edged lower along with European stocks as investors awaited the start of U.S. earnings season and officials prepared to sign the China trade deal in Washington. The yuan held close to its strongest level since July.

Contracts on Wall Street’s main equity benchmarks traded modestly down, after Monday’s jump in technology shares sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes to record highs. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index also drifted lower, with losses in banks offsetting gains in retail and mining shares. Asia stocks were slightly higher, though they trimmed gains as data showed China’s trade with the U.S. slumped last year.

The Chinese yuan held most of its surge from Monday, when Washington lifted its designation of the country as a currency cheat. Treasuries nudged up, and the dollar rose versus its biggest peers. The pound flirted with a possible sixth day of declines, which would be the longest losing streak since May.

Investors are catching their breath after a surge in optimism ahead of the signing of the first-phase trade deal between the world’s biggest economies and after Washington’s lifting of the currency-manipulator label from Beijing. The direction of travel from here may hinge on the earnings season, which begins in earnest on Tuesday with results from Wall Street giants JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., though Sino-U.S. trade remains in the picture.

“The next step is really whether the two countries adhere to the trade agreement and what the details of that trade agreement are,” Laura Foll, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, told Bloomberg TV. “And following on from that, how phase two of the negotiations go.”