US futures climb; China’s stance weighs on metals

Bloomberg

US equity-index futures gained as investors wagered that the Federal Reserve will maintain monetary support in coming months while a rebound in the world’s biggest economy stokes inflation fears.
Contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 gauges pointed to gains after US stocks closed mixed. The dollar and Treasuries were steady. Bitcoin advanced above $35,000 following another weekend of big swings. The Stoxx Europe 600 fluctuated amid low volumes, with German, Danish, Norwegian and Swiss markets closed for holidays.
China’s crackdown on commodities speculation weighed on raw-material prices, with steel dropping more than 5% and iron ore tumbling by close to the daily limit. Bloomberg’s industrial metals subindex
declined for a fourth day to a one-month low.
Implied volatility for major global indexes remains subdued, suggesting investors aren’t pricing in a surprise from the Fed in the next six months. While market-based gauges of inflation expectations have declined recently, concerns linger that the post-pandemic recovery could stoke price pressures, and some countries also face Covid-19 spikes. Robust corporate earnings, especially in Europe, are underpinning stock prices.
“It’s going to be a very mixed market over the next several months until we get more information on what’s really going to happen with inflation and how the stimulus in the US affects spending there, but also how the coronavirus really progresses,” JoAnne Feeney, a partner at Advisors Capital Management LLC, said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
Brent crude held gains to around $68 a barrel after Iran agreed to extend a key nuclear-monitoring pact with United Nations inspectors, setting the Persian Gulf country up to revive an agreement that could enable it to resume oil exports.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed as of 9:23 am London time and futures on the S&P 500 rises 0.4%
While futures on the Nasdaq 100 rises 0.5%, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 0.4% and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rises 0.1%. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index falls as much as 0.2%
While the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index falls 0.1%, the euro rises 0.2% to $1.2202 and the Japanese yen rises 0.2% to 108.77 per dollar.
The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 6.4285 per dollar and the British pound was little changed at $1.4156.
While the yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.61%, Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.14% and Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to as much as 0.81%.
Brent crude rises 1.6% to $67 a barrel and spot gold was little changed.