U.S. Futures Rise as Stocks Are Mixed; Pound Gains: Markets Wrap

 

 

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.2% as of 7:27 a.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.2%.
• Germany’s DAX Index decreased 0.1%.
• Switzerland’s SMI Index rose 0.6%.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.3%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
• The euro increased 0.1% to $1.106.
• The Japanese weakened fell 0.2% to 109.04 per dollar.
• The offshore yuan depreciated 0.2% to 7.0171 per dollar.
• The British pound gained 0.4% to $1.2953.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained two basis points to 1.85%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield increased three basis points to 0.755%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to -0.33%.
• The Canada 10-year government bond yield increased two basis points to 1.50%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.2% to $57.60 a barrel.
• LME nickel declined 0.9% to $14,835 per metric ton.
• Gold declined 0.6% to $1,459.23 an ounce.

 

U.S. equity futures began the week with modest gains while share gauges across Europe and Asia were mixed as investors awaited fresh developments on global trade. The pound strengthened as the Conservative Party maintained its poll lead less than a month before elections

Contracts on the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced, signaling the underlying indexes will push toward yet more records after the three closed at all-time highs on Friday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fluctuated as gains in Switzerland and the U.K. offset weakness in France and Germany. In Asia, Japanese and Chinese equities closed higher, while stocks slipped in India and Australia. Hong Kong’s market outperformed, even as unrest in the city continued.

 

Sterling advanced as campaigning for Britain’s Dec. 12 vote rumbles on, with the ruling Conservatives consistently ahead in the polls. Treasuries slipped and European bonds were mixed.

 

Equity investors are showing modest optimism after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow’s comment that U.S.-China talks were nearing final stages gave markets impetus Friday. The next day, negotiators from the two sides held “constructive discussions” in a phone call to address both countries’ core concerns about a phase-one deal, according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry.

“We’re really in an inflection point” for markets in the run-up to President Donald Trump’s next threatened tariff hike on Dec. 15, Robert Hormats, a vice chairman at Kissinger Associates, said on Bloomberg TV. “This has to be done relatively soon or else the danger of things getting worse in mid-December increases” and markets will be disrupted, he said.

Meanwhile, China’s yuan dipped and local bonds advanced after the country’s central bank lowered borrowing costs on short-term loans for the first time since 2015 and injected $26 billion into the financial system. The moves were seen as aimed at shoring up confidence following a string of poor economic data.

On the energy front, Saudi Arabia set a valuation target for Aramco’s IPO well below the kingdom’s goal of $2 trillion and pared back the size of the sale. It looks set to rely on local investors after most international money managers balked at even the reduced price target.