US futures gained alongside European stocks as China’s latest measures to support its markets offset uncertainly about the outlook for interest rates following cautious comments from central bankers at Jackson Hole.
(Bloomberg) — US futures gained alongside European stocks as China’s latest measures to support its markets offset uncertainly about the outlook for interest rates following cautious comments from central bankers at Jackson Hole.
Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 rose about 0.6% and 0.4% respectively. Among individual premarket movers, 3M Co. gained more than 5% after agreeing to pay $5.5 billion to resolve lawsuits related to military earplugs. Treasury yields and a gauge of the dollar were steady.
The rate-sensitive technology sector led the advance in Europe. With UK markets closed for a bank holiday, trading volumes were two-thirds lower than the 30-day average for this time of day.
Stocks have struggled in August as a higher-for-longer rates narrative took hold. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stuck to the script in his Jackson Hole speech on Friday, saying that the central bank is “prepared to raise rates further if appropriate,” even as he stressed that the central bank would “proceed carefully,” guided by economic data. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, likewise, vowed to set borrowing costs as high as needed to keep inflation in check.
“Most of the stock market’s gains look to be in the books for the year and we expect muted returns for the remainder of the year,” said Rod von Lipsey, managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management. “Because of this, bonds are our preferred asset class, since slower economic growth and higher-for-longer rates should be favorable for bond yields, which are currently at very attractive levels.”
Asian benchmarks rose after Beijing reduced the levy charged on stock trades, among other measures. Chinese stocks pared most of their early gains, however, showing once again that efforts to boost its markets are falling flat in the face of economic worries. Foreign funds accelerated their selling through the day, poised to take this month’s outflows to the biggest on record.
“The China authorities are clearly stepping up efforts to rebuild confidence in Beijing’s policy commitment to achieve growth and support the market,” said Xiaojia Zhi, chief China economist at Credit Agricole. “But then a fundamental growth improvement as well as tangible policy action onshore is needed to really turn the mood around, and therefore more time could be needed.”
China Evergrande Group slumped as much as 87% in Hong Kong trading following a 17-month halt, becoming a penny stock as the country’s most-indebted developer unveiled more losses and delayed meetings with creditors.
- MLIV Pulse Survey: Will high Treasury yields lead to a selloff in stocks? Share your views here.
Elsewhere, oil and gold were little changed.
Key events this week:
- US Conference Board consumer confidence, Tuesday
- Eurozone economic confidence, consumer confidence, Wednesday
- US GDP, wholesale inventories, pending home sales, Wednesday
- China manufacturing PMI, non-manufacturing PMI, Thursday
- Japan industrial production, retail sales, Thursday
- Eurozone CPI, unemployment, Thursday
- ECB publishes account of July monetary policy meeting, Thursday
- US personal spending and income, initial jobless claims, Thursday
- China Caixin manufacturing PMI, Friday
- Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, Friday
- South African central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, BOE’s Huw Pill, IMF’s Gita Gopinath on panel at the South African Reserve Bank conference, Friday
- Boston Fed President Susan Collins speaks at virtual event, Friday
- US unemployment, nonfarm payrolls, light vehicle sales, ISM manufacturing, construction spending, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% as of 8:33 a.m. New York time
- Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.6%
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7%
- The MSCI World index rose 0.3%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro was little changed at $1.0805
- The British pound was little changed at $1.2587
- The Japanese yen was little changed at 146.55 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 0.3% to $26,159.68
- Ether rose 0.2% to $1,657.39
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.22%
- Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.56%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.44%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $80.03 a barrel
- Gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,942.90 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jan-Patrick Barnert, Farah Elbahrawy and Tassia Sipahutar.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.