Dollar slips as US stocks rebound, metals gain

Bloomberg

The dollar dropped the most in two weeks while oil retreated from its highest close in 17 months as investors prepared to close out a volatile year for financial markets. US stocks rebounded from the biggest slide in two months.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell for the first time in four days after reaching the highest level in a decade.
The S&P 500 Index edged higher in trading 37 percent below the 30-day average at this time of day. The strengthening yen sent Japan’s Topix to its biggest drop in more than a month, while European shares extended losses for 2016. Crude in New York slipped for the first time in nine days, halting the longest rally since 2010. Gold extended gains with copper.
Trading has been thin across the globe during the last week of the year, with volumes in crude oil, equities and currencies all below average. Investors may be reallocating money as they assess post-election asset moves that took the dollar to multiyear highs, sent Treasuries tumbling and drove US equities to records.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,253.99 at 9:38 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average held near 19,870, good for a 14 percent advance in the year. The Russell 2000 Index of small caps has surged 20 percent in 2016, most among major US benchmarks. Data Thursday showed jobless claims declined last week from a six-month high in the prior period.
The world’s largest economy The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.2 percent, after closing at the highest level in a year on Wednesday. The gauge is down 1.4 percent for 2016. Trading volume in Europe is about half the 30-day average. Cyclical shares including banks, carmakers and miners — among the best performers in the final quarter of the year amid bets for stronger economic growth — fell the most. Japan’s Topix slid 1.2 percent. The benchmark is heading toward a loss of 1.2 percent for the year, its first annual decline in five years.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.3 percent after trading on Wednesday at the highest level in more than a decade. The slide erased a weekly gain and left the measure higher by 3.3 percent in 2016. The euro
was up 0.4 percent, while the yen rose 0.4 percent, the most since Dec. 19. The Australian and New Zealand dollars both strengthened 0.4 percent.
Crude futures in New York slid 0.2 percent to $53.952 a barrel as an industry report was said to show US stockpiles climbed last week. Crude settled at $54.06 on Wednesday, the highest close since July 2015. Gold rose for a fourth session, adding 0.3 percent to $1,145.01. The metal has been rebounding from an 11-month low.
U.K. gilts led European bonds higher. Yields fell six basis points to 1.23 percent. The yield on German 10-year bunds fell one basis point to 0.18 percent, while those on Treasuries dropped two basis points to 2.48 percent, extending Wednesday’s decline of five basis points. Australia’s 10-year yield slid seven basis points to 2.78 percent.