Tech slump drags on US stocks as crude advances

Bloomberg

US stocks were mixed as investors weighed the outlook for elections this week along with signals that a trade deal between the world’s biggest economies remains a ways off. Oil gained for the first time in a week.
Apple Inc. led technology shares lower after a report it won’t boost iPhone production. The Nasdaq 100 Index led declines among major benchmarks, with Facebook, Amazon and Netflix all lower. A rally in financial and energy shares lifted the S&P 500 Index. Treasury yields edged lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index stayed in the green in relatively thin trading.
Politics and central banks loom large in a busy week for global markets. US congressional elections, seen as a referendum on the policies of President Donald Trump, take place on Tuesday. Investors also are on alert for any trade developments after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow last week downplayed the potential for a quick deal between the US and China. Up ahead is the Federal Reserve policy meeting on Thursday, when officials are expected to keep the benchmark rate unchanged but give clues for moves into 2019.
Elsewhere, crude climbed as sanctions on Iran oil snapped back into place on Monday. The pound strengthened a third day in four on signs of further progress in Brexit negotiations. Emerging-market currencies and shares fell after stocks in Asia closed mostly lower.
Argentina’s central bank said it will extend the use of a currency trading band into next year and will likely manage peso fluctuations less than at present.
On Tuesday, US mid-term elections will determine whether Republicans keep control of Congress, and set the stage for Trump’s 2020 re-election bid Reserve Bank of Australia November policy decision on Tuesday. Federal Reserve policy makers are expected to leave the main interest rate unchanged on Thursday at their penultimate gathering of 2018. Trump plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of Armistice Day celebrations on November 11.
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent in New York; the Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.6 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.3 percent with its sixth consecutive advance. The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.5 percent, the first retreat in a week.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped less than 0.1 percent. The euro was little changed at $1.1394. The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.17 per dollar. The British pound jumped 0.4 percent to $1.3022. The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index sank 0.1 percent.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 3.19 percent. Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.42 percent. Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis points to 1.5 percent, its sixth straight increase.
The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.8 percent to the highest in a week.