US stocks jump with loonie, peso on revamped trade pact

Bloomberg

US stocks rose towards records and the dollar slipped with Treasuries after negotiators agreed to a new version of the Nafta trade pact. The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso gained.
The S&P 500 Index climbed on the first day of the fourth quarter. General Electric Co. surged after replacing its chief executive, while Tesla Inc. rallied after Elon Musk settled with regulators. The loonie and peso each jumped 0.7 percent versus the dollar. Oil drifted higher on concern over a slowdown in US drilling. Treasury 10-year yields climbed to 3.08 percent.
A measure of confidence returned to markets after American and Canadian represen- tatives announced a trade deal to be known as the US Mexico Canada Agreement, making modest revisions to the old Nafta framework. Political drama in Washington still swirled around Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, but investors remained focus on a spate of corporate news and economic data due this week.
In Europe, the broad equity gauge rose for the fourth day in five, led by oil and chemical companies. Italian bonds extended their slide from last week, dragging European debt lower as uncertainty persisted over a budget accord. Investors will be watching the market closely; the ECB has cut monthly bond purchases in half to 15 billion euros ($17 billion) starting this month. The euro held steady even as data showed growth in factory output slid to the weakest pace in two years in the single currency area.
In Asia, volumes were below normal in a number of markets — it’s Labor Day in Australia, Hong Kong is shut and China is out through October 7. Japan’s blue-chip Nikkei 225 Average closed at its highest level in nearly 27 years.
US manufacturing PMI data was due, as well as construction spending. The UK Conservative Party in second day of its annual conference on Monday. Central bank policy decision are scheduled by the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday and Reserve Bank of India on Friday.
US employment reports for September also due on Friday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.4 percent. The MSCI World Index of developed countries gained less than 0.1 percent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index was virtually unchanged. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 0.5 percent to highest in about 27 years.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined less than 0.1 percent. The euro dipped less than 0.05 percent to the weakest in three weeks. The Mexican peso climbed 0.7 percent to 18.5939 per dollar, the strongest in almost eight weeks. The Canadian dollar jumped 0.7 percent to C$1.2814 per US dollar, the strongest in 19 weeks. The Japanese yen fell 0.2 percent to 113.93 per dollar, the weakest in about 11 months.