Europe stocks fall, US futures fluctuates; dollar strengthens

Bloomberg

European stocks fell after a late-session drop on Wall Street and as the region’s finance chiefs failed to reach a deal on an economic response to the coronavirus. US equity-index fluctuates and the dollar gained.
The euro and Italian bonds also took a hit after European Union officials struggled to reconcile contrasting visions for the steps needed to help their economies recover from the pandemic, while core regional debt gained. France’s output shrank the most since World War II in the first quarter, the latest indicator of the severity of the shock to the region from a simultaneous collapse in demand and supply.
Contracts on the S&P 500 index swung between losses and gains following a rocky session, when the gauge’s advance fizzled near the end of the day. Equities climbed in Japan and sank in Hong Kong. Treasury yields edged higher.
While the S&P 500 briefly reached a 20% gain from its March low, the highest coronavirus death tolls yet in the UK and New York State were a reminder that the outbreak is far from contained. Investors are also concerned that fiscal stimulus measures will be too late or not enough to counter the effects of the pandemic as a European response drags on.
“As the quarter progresses, investors start to understand that everything we’re seeing is in the form of assistance and aid to just tide the economy over,” Bob Michele, global chief investment officer at JPMorgan Asset Management, said on Bloomberg TV. “It’s not stimulus that gets the economy going at a much higher rate than where it is.”
Oil edged up after sinking to the weakest level since the start of the month. Investors are weighing whether the world’s biggest producers will be able to strike a deal that cuts enough output to offset an unprecedented demand loss from the coronavirus outbreak.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar slipped after S&P Global Ratings cut the country’s credit-rating outlook to negative from stable.
The kiwi edged lower after New Zealand’s central bank said it is open to increasing the size and scope of its asset-purchase program.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.9% as of 9:16 am London time and the futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.1%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.1%.
While, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.5%, the euro fell 0.4% to $1.0851 and the British pound declined 0.2% to $1.2308. The Japanese yen was little changed at 108.82 per dollar.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 0.72% and Germany’s 10-year yield fell four basis points to -0.35%. Britain’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 0.38%.
While Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to $32.04 a barrel, gold strengthened 0.2% to $1,650 an ounce.