U.S. Futures, Stocks Advance as Bonds Edge Lower: Markets Wrap

And here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the S&P 500 Index increased 0.3% as of 7:20 a.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.4%.
• Germany’s DAX Index climbed 0.1%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 0.5%.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 0.3%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1%.
• The British pound advanced 0.3% to $1.3137.
• The euro gained 0.1% to $1.1094.
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 108.88 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 1.79%.
• The yield on two-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 1.58%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to -0.30%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 0.4% to $58.66 a barrel.
• Iron ore climbed 0.1% to $86.95 per metric ton.
• LME copper gained 0.1% to $5,891 per metric ton.
• Sugar increased 0.1% to $0.1307 a pound.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

• Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering is scheduled to be priced on Thursday, with Riyadh looking to raise more than $25 billion.
• Friday brings the U.S. jobs report, where estimates are for non-farm payrolls to rise by 190,000 in November.

U.S. equity-index futures rose with European and Asian stocks on Thursday as investors maintained their fragile confidence that America could scrap a scheduled tariff hike on Chinese imports in 10 days. Bonds and the dollar edged lower.

Contracts on the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all pointed to a positive start on Wall Street. Retailer Dollar General Corp. jumped in pre-market trading after boosting its earnings forecast. Retail and healthcare were among the leading sectors on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Earlier in Asia, most major benchmarks posted solid gains although stocks fell in South Korea and India. An index of emerging-market shares climbed.

Treasuries added to their losses from Wednesday, when a report indicated the U.S. and China were closer to a deal that would avoid the next round of tariffs. Indian government bonds tumbled after its central bank unexpectedly left interest rates unchanged. The pound rose for a fifth day against the greenback as expectations grow for a Conservative victory in next week’s election.

Investors focus remains on whether a phase-one trade deal can come together in time to avert another scheduled hike in American duties on Chinese goods, a result many say is priced into various asset classes. With fears of a global economic slowdown subsiding as the year draws to a close, concern has shifted to the prospect that political tension will infect progress on trade — particularly U.S. support for Hong Kong protesters and Chinese Muslims.

“If we do just muddle along and there aren’t the tariff increases on Dec. 15, we’ll probably see something of a stable stock-market environment,” Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco Ltd., told Bloomberg TV. Any negative trade news “could be the spoiler for what otherwise would be a fairly solid month for stocks,” she said.

Elsewhere, iron and steel stocks led gains in Japan after a government stimulus package was announced at 26 trillion yen ($239 billion), slightly larger than expected, to support growth. Oil futures nudged higher, extending this week’s rally after Energy Information Administration data showed U.S. crude inventories fell more than expected.