U.S. Futures Jump With Stocks on Easing Virus Toll: Markets Wrap
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 3.7% as of 7:11 a.m. New York time.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 2.8%.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 2.6%.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.1%.
The euro was little changed at $1.0799.
The British pound rose 0.3% to $1.231.
The Japanese yen declined 0.5% to 109.11 per dollar.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed six basis points to 0.65%.
Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.42%.
Britain’s 10-year yield jumped three basis points to 0.336%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.8% to $27.26 a barrel.
Gold rose 1% to $1,636.43 an ounce.
U.S. equity futures jumped alongside stocks in Europe and Asia after the reported death tolls in some of the world’s coronavirus hot spots showed signs of easing over the weekend. The dollar was steady and Treasuries fell.
Contracts on all three main American gauges rallied after New York state fatalities fell for the first time and President Donald Trump said he sees signs the pandemic is beginning to level off. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped led by automakers and travel and leisure shares after Italy and Spain said they had the fewest deaths in more than two weeks, and Germany and France reported the lowest numbers in days.
The upbeat tone follows another negative week, and the mood among investors remains divided. Bulls are pointing to more attractive valuations, unprecedented stimulus and now slowing death rates in several major countries. Bears are fretting the continued spread of the disease, dismal economic data and the rising corporate costs of the pandemic and subsequent shutdown.
“We are still optimistic that the administration will be able to get this virus under control and reopen the economy by the end of April, early May,” Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said on Bloomberg TV. “If that does occur, it’s likely that we’re able to control the downturn from a depressionary scenario into a recessionary scenario.”
In Asia, Japan’s benchmark ended almost 4% higher even as that country moved closer to declaring a state of emergency. The yen dropped as haven demand receded. Shares in Hong Kong rose while Shanghai was closed for a holiday.
Elsewhere, crude oil pared a decline of as much as 11% though it remained lower as uncertainty swirled over a proposed meeting of the world’s top producers. The pound fluctuated before turning higher even as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital for tests after suffering from the coronavirus for 10 days.
— With assistance by Andreea Papuc, Adam Haigh, and Sophie Caronello
