Stocks, bonds and the dollar saw small moves, with Wall Street traders refraining from making significant bets amid this week’s economic data deluge.
(Bloomberg) — Stocks, bonds and the dollar saw small moves, with Wall Street traders refraining from making significant bets amid this week’s economic data deluge.
The S&P 500 churned near 4,400 a day after the benchmark gauge notched its first back-to-back advance in August. The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed two basis points to 4.2% The dollar rose, pushing toward the highest since May.
“The stock market pullback in August was warranted as multiples expanded rapidly and yields on the 10-year Treasury surged, suggesting inflation and rates will remain higher for longer,” said Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners in New York. “Given elevated multiples, we expect increased volatility from the potential bite of aggressive Fed policy leading to further declines in economic activity.”
Labor-market figures are seen showing fewer July job openings than a month earlier, indicating labor supply and demand are coming into better balance. That may help limit wage pressures and, ultimately, inflation. Meantime, consumer confidence is expected to deteriorate slightly as inflation remains elevated and mortgage rates have surged, putting rate-sensitive purchases out of reach for many households.
Corporate Highlights:
- Regional banks are in focus as regulators are expected to propose rules that require that lenders with as little as $100 billion in assets issue enough long-term debt to cover capital losses if they ever failed.
- US-listed Chinese stocks are mostly higher as Bloomberg reported that authorities are poised to lower homeowners’ borrowing costs on existing mortgages, while the biggest state-owned banks are considering deposit rate cuts to support the economy.
- Best Buy Co. said a painful sales slump in consumer electronics and household appliances is starting to show signs of easing.
- 3M Co. has agreed to pay more than $6 billion over five years to resolve hundreds of thousands of lawsuits alleging it sold defective ear plugs to the US military that led to hearing damage for combat troops.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 was little changed as of 9:32 a.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6%
- The MSCI World index rose 0.1%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
- The euro fell 0.3% to $1.0789
- The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2569
- The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 147.18 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin rose 0.1% to $26,015.61
- Ether fell 0.2% to $1,642.96
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.22%
- Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.57%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.48%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.1% to $80.19 a barrel
- Gold futures were little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Brett Miller and Robert Brand.
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