Stocks in Europe climb with US futures; oil slips, dollar gains

Bloomberg

Stocks advanced in Europe along with US equity futures as investors looked past simmering tensions between Washington and Beijing and focused on progress in relaxing lockdowns. Oil slipped, while Treasuries and the dollar edged higher.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index headed for a third daily increase as the region’s push to revive battered economies looked to be on track, with coronavirus infections showing no sign of a resurgence. Tour operator TUI AG jumped again in London and was set for gains of about 90% in two sessions. Contracts on the three main American equity gauges pointed to a firm opening later on Wall Street. Asian stocks were mixed in wake of the latest Sino-American flare-up, and China’s yuan slipped.
The Trump administration is considering a range of sanctions to try to punish China for its crackdown on Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter said. For now though, investors seem to be taking the new friction with China in stride amid hopes that economies are beginning to recuperate after suffering a deep downturn.
JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Jamie Dimon, head of America’s biggest bank, counted himself among the optimists, saying there could be a “fairly rapid recovery,” while data showed an unexpected gain for US new-home sales.
The recent equity rally “is an indication that investors are getting optimistic about the reopening of the economy and the drug-treatment development,” Katerina Simonetti, senior portfolio manager at UBS Private Wealth, said on Bloomberg TV. “We hope that it will eventually lead to a normalisation in the market, but we have to keep an eye on the re-emergence of virus cases.”
Elsewhere, Japanese equities outperformed after Bloomberg reported that the Abe administration is compiling a new 117 trillion yen ($1.1 trillion) stimulus package. Shares in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell.
The euro-area data due on Friday is forecast to show consumer inflation fell to 0.1% on May from 0.4% the previous month.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.7% as of 9:28 am London time and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.4%. While Germany’s DAX Index advanced 0.9%, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index also climbed 0.3%.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1% and the euro declined 0.1% to $1.0968.
As the Japanese yen was little changed at 107.52 per dollar, the British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2305.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 0.68% and Germany’s 10-year yield dipped two basis points to -0.45%. Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.192%.
While West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 1.6% to $33.80 a barrel, gold weakened 0.1% to $1,708.77 an ounce.