Stocks recover from technology sell off; yields rise, oil climbs

Bloomberg

Energy-related companies led a rise in US stocks as equity markets looked to shrug off weakness in technology. Government bond yields increased as investors braced for higher US borrowing rates.
Oil climbed to a two-week high as output curbs by OPEC and its allies continued to deplete the remnants of a global supply surplus, helping to lift the shares of companies such as Newfield Exploration Co. and Marathon Petroleum Corp. Federal regulators ruled that master-limited partnerships can no longer receive a credit for income taxes they don’t pay.
“Energy had a bad couple of days, there was that whole FERC ruling within the MLP space that really freaked people out,” said Ed Campbell, managing director and senior portfolio manager at Quantitative Management Associates. “But I think people are sort of looking through the details and it’s really not going to have as big an impact on the MLP space as people were initially thinking.”
Facebook fell for second day after Bloomberg News reported that the US Federal Trade Commission is probing the company over whether it violated terms of a consent decree over its use of personal data, according to a person familiar with the matter. The slide had helped to send the Nasdaq yesterday to its steepest loss in six weeks.
Investors are struggling to rediscover their bullishness in the wake of the tech setbacks and with the Federal Reserve rate decision a day away. Reports that the White House plans to impose tariffs worth as much as $60 billion on Chinese products as part of a battle over safeguarding intellectual property added to the sense of caution. It would be the latest phase of President Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda and threatens to increase market fears of a trade war.
Elsewhere, the UK currency gave up its gains after data showed the nation’s inflation rate fell more than expected in February. Russia’s ruble steadied after six days of losses.
The Fed decision and Jerome Powell’s news conference come on Wednesday. The Trump administration could impose tariffs on China as soon as this week. The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates and its asset-purchase program unchanged on Thursday.
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent in New York, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.3 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.2 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.4 percent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index sank 0.3 percent.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3 percent. The euro fell 0.5 percent to $1.2271. The British pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.3995. The Japanese yen weakened 0.3 percent to 106.43 per dollar. The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index sank 0.1 percent.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.88 percent. Germany’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.58 percent. Britain’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 1.46 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery, which expires on Tuesday, rose 1.8 percent to $63.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.