US equity-index futures gain with Europe stocks; dollar up

Bloomberg

US equity-index futures gained on Wednesday after President Donald Trump pushed again to reopen the economy, while stocks in Europe drifted amid mixed corporate earnings and more dismal economic data. The dollar steadied and Treasury yields edged higher.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index struggled for direction after advancing the most in almost three weeks on Tuesday, with gains for health-care stocks offsetting losses for oil companies. Stocks in Shanghai rose as Chinese traders came back online after a five-day break. Australian shares fell, while Hong Kong and Korean benchmarks advanced. Japan was shut.
China’s yuan rose in offshore trading, while the yen reached its strongest since mid-March, back when markets were roiled by emergency demand for dollar cash. West Texas oil prices snapped five days of gains, while emerging-market stocks rose for a second day.
President Trump has said that Americans should begin returning to their everyday lives even if it leads to more sickness and death. Meanwhile, manufacturing data from Germany provided further evidence of the pandemic’s devastating effect, as new cases in the euro area’s biggest economy continued to rise. Traders looking for a glimmer of hope in corporate earnings would have been disappointed, with Unicredit SpA reporting a loss and Credit Agricole SA increasing provisions for bad loans.
China’s onshore yuan fixing on Wednesday was slightly stronger than many expected, in wake of declines in the offshore currency during the Chinese holiday and amid rising tensions with the US. Fears of a renewed trade war have swelled alongside Trump administration comments blaming China for the global pandemic.
The S&P 500 saw a gain of almost 2% cut in half in the last hour of trading after Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida warned the economy will need more government support. Walt Disney Co. fell in after-hours trading, becoming the latest firm to detail the severity of the pandemic’s impact on its business.
“As we ease these lockdowns there remains the risk that of course you then have to tighten up the controls,” said Andrew Wilson, chairman of global fixed income at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said on Bloomberg TV. “It is absolutely dependent on what happens with respect to infection rates and whether there is the
so-called second wave,” he said of the market and economic outlook.
Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.7% as of 8:10 am in London, and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.1%. While the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.6%, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.7%.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed and the euro bought $1.0825, down 0.1%. The yen strengthened 0.2% to 106.32 per dollar.
While the yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 0.69%, Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.56%.
While West Texas Intermediate crude slid 1.3% to $24.27 a barrel, gold dipped less than 0.1% to $1,705.14 an ounce.