US futures fluctuate amid earnings; oil, yields climb

Bloomberg

US futures fluctuated, struggling for direction as investors weighed corporate earnings and recent spikes in virus cases. A weaker dollar boosted oil, while government bond yields climbed.
Contracts on the S&P 500 turned lower on Tuesday, while those on the Nasdaq 100 held a modest gain. A seventh-straight session of declines in the US dollar allowed oil to breach $64 a barrel, the highest in a month, on the one-year anniversary of negative prices. Benchmark Treasury yields rise for a third day.
European stocks were dragged lower by tobacco stocks. A report that the US government is considering a rule to strip cigarettes of addictive levels of nicotine sent shares in British American Tobacco Plc down more than 6%.
Investors are awaiting further confirmation of the private sector’s recovery from the pandemic as the earnings season gathers pace. The bright spot in the latest reports was the first revenue gain for International Business Machines Corp. in eleven quarters, and strategists at HSBC Holdings Plc expect more upside.
“Growth is recovering pretty spectacularly,” according to Max Kettner, multi-asset strategist at HSBC in London. “Fiscal stimulus-driven pent-up demand will likely lead to more positive surprises in the coming weeks.”
Even with this latest pullback in major indexes, and the relentess spread of Covid-19, global stocks are not far from record highs.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed at 9:50 am London time and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index sinks as much as 0.7%.
While the MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined by around 0.4%, the MSCI Emerging Market Index increased 0.3%.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.1% and the euro advanced 0.3% to $1.2069.
While the British pound was little changed at $1.3987, the onshore yuan strengthened 0.2% to 6.495 per dollar and the Japanese yen weakened 0.3% to 108.48 per dollar.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.62% and the yield on two-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 0.16%.
While Germany’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to -0.23%, Japan’s 10-year yield climbed less than one basis point to 0.089% and Britain’s 10-year yield jumped two basis points to 0.774%.
West Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.1% to $64.09 a barrel.
and Brent crude gained 1.3% to $67.95 a barrel and gold weakened 0.1% to $1,769.35 an ounce.