U.S. Stocks Join in Global Gains While Oil Tumbles: Markets Wrap

 

 

 

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.7% as of 9:31 a.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.4%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 2%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.4%.
• The euro advanced 0.3% to $1.0852.
• The British pound gained 0.5% to $1.2432.
• The Japanese yen strengthened 0.4% to 107.03 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased three basis points to 0.63%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to -0.46%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.30%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 26% to $12.50 a barrel.
• Gold weakened 0.5% to $1,720.58 an ounce.

U.S. stocks climbed alongside equities in Europe and Asia as major economies edged toward reopening, the Bank of Japan boosted stimulus measures and corporate results rolled in. The dollar weakened and oil slumped again.

The three main American benchmarks all gained amid continued talk of easing the lockdowns that have helped contain the coronavirus. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index also rose after Covid-19 deaths slowed in Spain, Italy and France and the countries signaled tentative moves to reopen their economies. Italian bonds outperformed after the nation dodged a credit-rating downgrade.

The misery for West Texas oil continued and futures in New York tumbled below $13 a barrel amid a glut of crude. The euro and pound gained.

Investors are focused on a slew of corporate earnings this week and forecasts on what’s to come, with reports due from Amazon.com Inc., Barclays Plc and Samsung Electronics Co. The Federal Reserve, BOJ and European Central Bank are all set to announce policy decisions, and several major economies will release data on gross domestic product.

“Global economic stimulus has been historic and tectonic, and the virus spread appears to have peaked in the Western world,” Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded “The Sevens Report” newsletter, wrote in a note. “At the same time, tough, there remain a lot of unknowns.”

The day’s corporate news was a mixed bag:

• Deutsche Bank AG rallied after joining other investment banks by beating earnings expectations, even as it warned about looming loan defaults.
• General Motors suspended its quarterly cash dividend and share buybacks and said it has taken other “significant austerity measures.”
• Airbus SE chief Guillaume Faury warned employees that the planemaker is “bleeding cash” and needs to quickly cut costs.

Earlier, Asian shares climbed as Japan’s central bank removed limits on its purchases of government bonds and ramped up its scope for buying corporate debt and commercial paper. The yen strengthened.