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Global equities rise as traders await Fed meeting, eye earnings
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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By Chris Prentice and Yoruk Bahceli
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Global equities rose and U.S. treasury yields touched a more than 12-year high on Monday as investors awaited a Federal Reserve meeting later this week.
Crude futures climbed on fewer exports from Saudi Arabia and high heating oil prices.
Wall Street opened higher. The S&P 500 gained 4.92 points, or 0.11%, to 4,374.63 and the gained 85.91 points, or 0.65%, to 13,376.69 by 10:56 a.m. ET (1456 GMT).
The Dow Jones Industrial index turned lower under pressure from steep losses in Johnson & Johnson . The index was down 44.23 points, or 0.13%, at 34,456.43.
Europe’s STOXX 600 index was up 0.07%, following last week’s 2.3% drop, with energy companies outperforming as oil prices rose with tightening supply from Saudi Arabia offsetting demand concerns.
Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 2.24 points, or 0.13%.
Earnings were in focus with shares in Dutch payments processor Adyen dropping 6.2%. The shares have lost nearly half their value following Thursday’s weak earnings which raised concerns around the company’s valuation.
Earnings from AI-darling Nvidia on Wednesday will be another major test of valuations.
Disappointment earlier weighed on Asian shares.
China’s central bank trimmed its one-year lending rate by 10 basis points and left its five-year rate unmoved. That was a surprise to analysts who had expected cuts of 15 bps to both as recovery in the world’s second-largest economy has lost steam due to a worsening property slump, weak spending and tumbling credit growth.
“The small injection of stimulus by China’s central bank in the ailing economy has proved largely underwhelming given the scale of the challenges erupting across sectors, but it has given investors hope there could be more to come,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Analysts said concern around downward pressure on the yuan, which has lost nearly 6% against the dollar this year, is likely limiting the size and scope of rate cuts.
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields were up, with the 30-year yield 4.468%, its highest since April 2011. Bond yields move inversely with prices. [US/]
“People are starting to get worried about the (bond) selloff and are looking ahead to (Federal Reserve Chair Jerome) Powell and what he says later this week about peak rates,” said Principal Global Investors’ chief global strategist, Seema Shah.
The key event for the week is the Fed’s Jackson Hole conference, where markets assume Powell will note the jump in yields and the recent run of strong economic data. The Atlanta Fed’s GDP Now tracker is running at a heady 5.8% for this quarter.
A majority of polled analysts think the Fed is done hiking, while traders are betting on a 40% chance of a final Fed hike by November.
The euro was up 0.1% against the dollar after last week’s 0.7% loss.
In commodities, spot gold prices fell 0.12% to $1,885.90 an ounce.[GOL/]
Prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) were underpinned by the risk of a strike at Australian offshore facilities that could affect around 10% of global supply.
Brent crude rose 0.06% to $84.86 a barrel, while U.S. crude gained 0.21% to $81.42.
(Reporting by Yoruk Bahceli and Wayne Cole, additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by David Evans, Mark Potter and Nick Macfie)
Monetary policy refers to the actions undertaken by a nation's central bank to control money supply and interest rates in order to achieve macroeconomic objectives such as controlling inflation, consumption, growth, and liquidity.
Equities represent ownership in a company, typically in the form of stocks. When you buy shares of a company's stock, you own a piece of that company and may benefit from its profits through dividends and capital appreciation.
A central bank is a national institution that manages a country's currency, money supply, and interest rates. It also regulates the banking system and aims to maintain economic stability.
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