Stocks drift amid earnings; bonds and dollar decline

Bloomberg

US equities drifted between gains and losses and European stocks were mixed as traders looked towards company results after lackluster economic data out of China spurred declines for many Asian shares. The dollar weakened against most peers.
Earnings were better-than-expected from the likes of Bank of America Corp. and BlackRock Inc. while there was an upbeat early release from Deutsche Bank AG, but it did little to spur stocks. The S&P 500 traded on either side of the 2,800 level, and most industry groups fell on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, overwhelming gains by builders and banks. Shares in Asia also declined earlier, amid thin volumes in most markets and with Japan shut for a holiday.
That helped the yen steady after its biggest weekly slide in 10 months. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped for a third day and Treasuries dropped with most European bonds. Commodities fell, with West Texas Intermediate oil slumping below $70 a barrel. Emerging-market currencies edged higher, while their shares fell.
“If things remain the way they are, where the fundamentals are good, but trade remains a relevant issue, I think we will be doing what we have been doing for the last few months,”
Krishna Memani, the chief investment officer at OppenheimerFunds Inc., said. “A two days up, two days down kind of a situation.”
With no fresh signs of a trade war escalation and President Donald Trump at a summit with Vladimir Putin, investors will no doubt remain occupied by a slew of numbers coming over the next few days, including economic data — such as Monday’s mixed figures from China — and company earnings. Later this week Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to lay the groundwork for further tightening.
Earnings season continues with reports due from companies including: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, American Express, Netflix, Microsoft, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson and IBM. Fed’s Powell delivers the semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to the Senate Banking Committee and answers lawmakers’ questions.
The S&P 500 Index fell 0.1 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped less than 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained less than 0.1 percent in New York. The UK’s FTSE 100 Index dropped for the first time in three days, falling 0.9 percent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index slumped 0.4 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell
0.1 percent.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2 percent. The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1710. The British pound gained 0.3 percent to $1.3264. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose three basis points to 2.86 percent.