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European Stocks Gain With US Futures; Dollar Slips

Source: bloomberg.com

 

Stocks in Europe gained in choppy trading on Monday as investors weighed whether last week’s selloff had gone far enough to price in concerns about rising rates and slowing growth.

Banks led the advance in the Stoxx Europe 600 index following the worst week for the gauge since March. Basic resources underperformed amid a slump in raw-material prices. Swedish engineering group ABB Ltd. declined after postponing a listing of its electric-car charging business, citing volatile market conditions. France’s equity benchmark lagged after President Emmanuel Macron lost his absolute majority in parliament, putting his reform agenda in peril.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained around 0.8% each. A dollar gauge edged lower. Treasury futures were mixed -- there’s no cash trading due to a US holiday.

Volatility measures remain elevated as investors look for an entry point into equity markets roiled by soaring price pressures and worries that aggressive monetary tightening will tip major economies into recession. JPMorgan strategists said pressure on stocks should ease in the second quarter as inflation moderates, but others -- including Morgan Stanley -- cautioned that more losses may be in store.

“Both prolonged inflation and/or a sharp increase in rates from central banks will have a deep impact on growth perspectives,” said Jean-François Paren, global head of market research at Credit Agricole CIB. “If anything, current valuations are more the ‘exit point’ than the ‘entry point’.”

Commodities relfected the concerns around global growth. Crude oil held Friday’s near-7% plunge, iron ore erased all of this year’s gains and copper extended losses for an eighth session after base metals capped the worst weekly losses in a year.

Bitcoin gyrated around the closely-watched $20,000 mark. A volatile crypto slump has become emblematic of the pressure on a range of assets from sharp Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes to tame high inflation.

Meanwhile, MSCI Inc.’s index of Asian shares dropped for an eighth day, the longest stretch since February 2020. China managed to buck the wider trend, continuing a recent spell of outperformance in part on Beijing’s vows of economic support.

 

Difuminar, Gráfico, Computadora, Datos

 

What to watch this week:

  • RBA minutes, Governor Philip Lowe due to speak, Tuesday

  • Fed Chair Jerome Powell semi-annual Senate testimony, Wednesday

  • Bank of Japan April minutes, Wednesday

  • Powell US House testimony, Thursday

  • US initial jobless claims, Thursday

  • PMIs for Eurozone, France, Germany, UK, Australia, Thursday

  • ECB economic bulletin, Thursday

  • US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

  • RBA’s Lowe speaks on panel, Friday

 

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5% as of 11:20 a.m. London time

  • Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.7%

  • Futures on the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8%

  • Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%

  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2%

  • The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.4%

 

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%

  • The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0528

  • The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 134.83 per dollar

  • The offshore yuan rose 0.3% to 6.6862 per dollar

  • The British pound was little changed at $1.2238

 

Bonds

  • Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 1.65%

  • Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.52%

 

Commodities

  • Brent crude was little changed

  • Spot gold was little changed

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