Stocks edge up as futures fluctuate; bonds decline

Bloomberg

The global rally in stocks slowed to a crawl as investors mulled its recent pace and reviewed expectations for loose monetary policy. US and European government bonds declined.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index drifted higher on gains in Germany’s market after the country extended a program that has kept millions of people from losing their jobs in Europe’s biggest economy. S&P 500 futures fluctuated hours after the index closed at a fresh record-high. Shares fall in Shanghai and Sydney. An MSCI global gauge of
equities steadied at within 1% of its all-time closing high.
The dollar wavered while crude oil traded near its most costly in five months as Hurricane Laura bore down on key refining facilities on the US Gulf Coast.
As global economies reopen, investors are showing cautious optimism about fresh outbreaks of the virus while focusing on the progress of a vaccine. Traders are also awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech on Thursday about the central bank’s monetary policy framework review, which is expected to entail a new inflation strategy.
US consumer confidence dropped in August to the lowest since 2014 as Americans grapple with high unemployment and uncertainty about future federal stimulus.
“The Fed has all but guaranteed that rates are going nowhere for at least two years,” Eleanor Creagh, a market strategist at Saxo Bank, said on Bloomberg TV. “Equity remains the place for investors to escape the secular stagnation that we’re seeing within the real economy that this zero-yield world produces.”
Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed at 9:27 am London time and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2%.
While Germany’s DAX Index rose 0.3%, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.1%.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,171.83 and the euro fell 0.2% to $1.1812.
While the Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 106.23 per dollar, the British pound was little changed at $1.3151.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained two basis points to 0.70% and Germany’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to -0.42%. Britain’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 0.275%.
While West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.2% to $43.26 a barrel, gold weakened 0.5% to $1,918.55 an ounce.