Technology Shares Increase; Dollar Weakens: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) -- Technology shares rose while the broader U.S. equity market was mostly lower as investors mulled the stalemate in stimulus negotiations and signs of an economic recovery.
The Nasdaq Composite gained and the S&P 500 opened in the red a day after briefly surpassing the record closing high reached before the coronavirus pandemic. Adding to optimism was a report showing that weekly jobless claims dropped below 1 million for the first time since March.
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Gold resumed its advance and Treasuries held steady before an auction of 30-year notes. The dollar slipped against a basket of its peers.
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Global stocks erase losses for the year
Stock markets in the U.S. and Asia have erased most of their losses triggered by the onset of the pandemic, though investors continue to bank on further fiscal stimulus. The concern is that government lifelines merely deferred even more unemployment.
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“It seems that the markets have been in glass-half-full mode in the past couple of sessions,” said Jane Foley, a strategist at Rabobank in London. “Even if we did get a new record today, the lack of liquidity in August would detract from the credibility of such a move.”
Meanwhile, some hard-hit U.S. states showed signs of improvement, with Texas and California reporting falling hospitalizations from the virus.
Elsewhere, oil steadied after rising earlier on signs of improving demand.
Here are some key events coming up:
China releases a slew of data for July on Friday, including industrial production and retail sales.
These are the market movers:
Stocks |
| The S&P 500 Index was little changed at 3,379.60 as of 9:44 a.m. New York time. |
| The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3% to 27,896.92. |
| The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5% to 11,072.74, the highest in a week. |
| The MSCI All-Country World Index increased 0.1% to 571.61, the highest in almost six months. |
Currencies |
| The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.3% to 1,175.14, the lowest in a week on the largest dip in more than a week. |
| The Japanese yen was little changed at 106.87 per dollar, the first advance in a week. |
| The euro climbed 0.5% to $1.1847, the strongest in a week on the largest climb in more than two weeks. |
Bonds |
| The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 0.69%, reaching the highest in more than seven weeks on its fifth straight advance. |
| Germany’s 10-year yield gained four basis points to -0.41%, the highest in six weeks. |
| Britain’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 0.255%, the highest in two months. |
Commodities |
| West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $42.69 a barrel, the highest in more than five months. |
| Gold strengthened 1.1% to $1,937.84 an ounce, the biggest gain in a week. |
| Silver strengthened 4.4% to $26.63 per ounce, the largest gain in a week. |
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