Technology rally lifts US stocks as Treasuries slip

Bloomberg

US stocks bounced back from the worst week of the year, as the latest retail-sales data boosted confidence that the economy isn’t headed for a downturn. Treasuries slipped and the dollar held steady.
The S&P 500 rose for the first time in six days, while the Nasdaq 100 jumped after Nvidia agreed to a deal and Apple was upgraded. Boeing tumbled after China grounded 737 Max flights following a crash in Ethiopia on Sunday. The planemaker is the biggest component of the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average, which slipped. Banks helped the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to its first advance in four sessions, with Commerzbank AG among the biggest winners.
In Asia, Chinese shares outperformed, paring some of Friday’s losses, with stocks in Japan and Hong Kong also higher. Treasuries declined with most European sovereign bonds. In Norway, the krone strengthened as surging inflation increased the odds of a rate hike next week.
A slew of data releases this week will be closely watched for clues on growth and the impact of central bank policy in the US, European Union and China, with the Bank of Japan the next to meet. On the trade front, Beijing and Washington are in general agreement on many crucial issues and have held meaningful discussions on foreign exchange, People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said.
“With the Fed taking an easier path rather than continuing to raise interest rates, the outlook for equities is relatively constructive,” Hans Goetti, founder of HG Research, told Bloomberg TV from Singapore.
Elsewhere, oil prices climbed as Saudi Arabia extended deeper-than-agreed production cuts into a second month. The pound fluctuated as another key Brexit vote looms in parliament on Prime Minister Theresa May’s revised deal, while the Turkish lira held steady even as the country entered its first recession in a decade.
Chinese retail sales and industrial production data are all scheduled for release this week. The National People’s Congress is set to wrap up with a speech on Friday from Premier Li Keqiang.

Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent at 10 a.m. in New York, while the Dow average lost 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.1 percent.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.2 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 0.5 percent, the largest climb in two weeks. The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 0.5 percent, the biggest increase in two weeks.

Currencies
While the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased less than 0.05 percent, the euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.1242.
The Japanese yen climbed less than 0.05 percent to 111.16 per dollar, the strongest in more than a week and the MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index jumped 0.2 percent, the biggest increase in two weeks. The Australian
dollar gained less than 0.05 percent to 0.705 per dollar.

Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 2.64 percent, the first advance in more than a week. Germany’s 10-year yield decreased less than one basis point to 0.07 percent, the lowest in more than two years.
Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 1.17 percent, the lowest in more than two weeks. The spread of Italy’s 10-year bonds over Germany’s rose five basis points to 2.482 percentage points.

Commodities
The Bloomberg Commodity Index dipped 0.1 percent to the lowest in more than three weeks. Brent crude rose 0.7 percent to $66.22 a barrel, the largest advance in a week. LME copper climbed 0.1 percent to $6,399.00 per metric ton.
Gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,294.78 an ounce, the largest fall in a week.