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Bloomberg
Most US stocks fell, with large-cap tech stocks bucking the trend, while the dollar slipped and Treasuries advanced as markets struck a tone of caution at the start of a week stuffed with catalysts. The euro gained.
The S&P 500 Index opened lower as investors assessed the impact of the first charges in the broad investigation to Russian meddling in the US election on the prospects for tax cuts. Apple Inc. rose on signs of strong demand for its latest phone, lifting the Nasdaq 100 Index to a gain. The company headlines another week of major earnings, with its report due
on Thursday.
Ten-year Treasury yields fell below 2.4 percent, with President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Federal Reserve due any day. The dollar slumped versus the euro, with the Fed, Bank of England and Bank of Japan slated to meet this week. In Europe, equities nudged higher, with markets showing little sign of distress as the Spanish government took control of the Catalan government.
Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business partner were the first people charged, indicating that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe is intensifying and could pose a danger to the White House at a time that Trump is working to push his tax plan through Congress.
Investors will watch some of the world’s most influential policy makers this week for more clues about quantitative easing and the path of monetary tightening, with the BOJ first up on Tuesday, followed by the Fed Wednesday. Speculation continues over who Trump will choose as the next Fed chair, with Governor Jerome Powell said to be the front-runner.
Elsewhere, equity benchmarks fluctuated in Japan and Chinese shares fell, with the Shanghai Composite Index tumbling the most in more than two months as the nation’s bond slump deepened amid mounting deleveraging concerns. And profit reports due this week from some of the world’s largest companies, including Apple Inc., may show if there’s enough juice in the earnings season to propel a leg higher for global shares. The US central bank’s next rate decision is on Wednesday, with economists expecting policy makers to hold rates for now and to increase them at the December meeting. Trump starts an 11-day trip to Asia on Friday. A probable BOE rate hike on Thursday will be the first in a decade.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 2,577.17 as of 10:17 am in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped and the Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.3 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent, the highest in more than five months. Germany’s DAX Index climbed 0.2 percent to the highest on record. Spain’s IBEX Index gained 1.8 percent to the highest in four weeks.
Japan’s Topix index and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed flat in Tokyo. South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.2 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong declined 0.1 percent.