US stocks advance with dollar, Treasury yields edge lower

Bloomberg

US stocks and the dollar rose while Treasury yields edged lower, as investors eyed the ongoing tax reform debate and the confirmation hearing for Federal Reserve chair nominee Jerome Powell.
The S&P 500 Index rebounded to a record after starting the week lower, following gains by stocks in Europe driven by energy firms. In Asia, shares in Hong Kong fell amid concerns China’s regulators may limit the flow of funds into the city’s equities.
Ten-year Treasury yields dropped for a second day and the dollar headed for its biggest two-day gain in a month as Powell testified to a Senate committee.
Copper slid the most in two weeks, while West Texas crude traded near $58 a barrel after touching the highest level in more than two years before OPEC and its allies meet this week.
Investors turned their focus to the nominee to be the next Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, who faces his Senate confirmation hearing in Washington. In a statement to the Senate Banking Committee, he signalled broad support for how the Fed operates, regulates and guides the economy.
Meanwhile, the Senate tax bill is headed for a marathon debate this week with the aim to hold a
floor vote as early as Thursday. House Committee on Ways and Means Head Kevin Brady said
the two chambers of Congress
will find “common ground” on
the legislation.
Elsewhere, sterling remained lower and Irish bonds higher as Ireland averted an election that could have derailed crucial Brexit talks with the UK Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald agreed to resign and end a five-day political stand-off.
Earlier, the Bank of England revealed that all UK lenders passed stress tests for the first time since it started the annual exercise.
The US Senate as soon as this week could debate and vote on tax-cut legislation. Japan industrial production is forecast to have rebounded in October, but CPI may show a sharp divergence between headline and core inflation, Bloomberg Intelligence said.
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3 percent as of 10:43 am New York time. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.5 percent, the biggest advance in a week. The UK’s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.9 percent to the highest in almost three weeks. Germany’s DAX Index rose 0.4 percent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index climbed 0.2 percent.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent. The euro fell 0.2 percent to $1.1872. The British pound dropped 0.4 percent to $1.3266, the weakest in a week. The Japanese yen decreased 0.2 percent to 111.36 per dollar.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries dropped one basis point to 2.32 percent. Germany’s 10-year yield fell less than one basis point to 0.34 percent. Britain’s 10-year yield gained less than one basis point to 1.256 percent. Japan’s 10-year yield declined less than one basis point to 0.04 percent. Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,297.02 an ounce.