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Bloomberg
Technology shares drove gains in US equities, while natural gas and crude lifted commodities. The dollar strengthened with Treasuries as investors prepare to parse second-quarter earnings for more evidence global economic growth is back on track.
The S&P 500 Index rose for a second day as tech shares rebounded from last week’s selloff. Trading was light, with the volume 20 percent below the 30-day average at this time of day. European equities advanced following a similar climb across much of Asia. The dollar edged higher against most major currencies and bonds recovered after a drop last week. Natural gas futures jumped and crude rose above $44.50 a barrel.
With global stocks close to all-time highs, investors are shrugging off political uncertainty and placing their faith in a continued earnings expansion on broadening global growth. Germany’s trade surplus was higher than estimated as May exports beat forecasts, while US employers added the most jobs in four months in June. PepsiCo Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co are set to report results this week.
“Solid employment growth without inflation is the ‘not too hot, not too warm’ mix that keeps the Fed normalizing policy ever so slowly, equity indices marching ever higher and the economic cycle able to trundle on with no recession in sight,†Kit Juckes, a strategist at
Societe Generale SA, wrote in a note to clients.
The G-20 summit made little headway on dominant foreign policy issues such as North Korea’s escalation of tensions. Meetings between US President Donald Trump and the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China ended without a clear consensus about how to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony before Congress will be in focus later this week as investors look for guidance on when the US central bank could start reducing its balance sheet. The U.K. government is due to publish it’s Repeal Bill on membership of the European Union this week. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, Executive Board member Benoit Coeure and Single Supervisory Mechanism Chair Daniele Nouy will participate in a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent at 11:18 a.m. in New York, while the Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.5 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was 0.5 percent higher. The MSCI Emerging Market Index added 0.5 percent.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.1 percent. The pound retreated 0.1 percent to $1.2880 and the euro dropped by a similar amount to $1.1385.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries dropped two basis points to 2.37 percent after rising 23 basis points in the past two weeks. In Europe, peripheral nations led a rally with benchmark bonds yields in Italy and Spain shedding six basis points. The yield on 10-year bunds fell three basis points to 0.54 percent.
WTI crude added 1 percent to $44.69 a barrel following its 2.8 percent slide Friday. Gold dropped 0.2 percent to $1,210.38 an ounce after touching its lowest level since March. Silver fell 1.9 percent.
The yen fell 0.3 percent to its weakest since May 11 as Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated that policy could be adjusted as needed.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent after hitting a five-week low Friday. Japan’s Topix Index added 0.5 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.7 percent, while shares on the mainland declined.