US stock, futures rise on Congress deal, oil dips

Bloomberg

Stocks and US futures climbed, while the yen slipped as a tentative deal by the US Congress to avert a government shutdown offset weaker economic data from China.
US stocks looked set to add to their best week since February, as earnings season rolls along. Data on Monday indicated consumer spending stalled in March, adding to signs of a tepid start to the year for the world’s largest economy. Holidays in most of Europe, China and India muted trading volumes across markets. Crude fell 0.5 percent in New York, the Japanese currency slipped for the fifth day in six, and Treasuries retreated with gold. Japan’s Topix rose to the highest level since March after its best week of the year.
US House and Senate negotiators reached a bipartisan agreement on a $1.1 trillion bill to keep the government open through the end of September.
The news triggered a swing in markets in Asia after equities and currencies’ traders had been loath to take additional risk ahead of a busy week for macro-economic events and data.
“It’s a good thing a tentative deal was reached without too much trouble,” said Naoki Fujiwara, chief fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “It seems that we’re able to put behind some of the things that the market’s recently been worried about. But US economic data on jobs and the GDP is reason for caution.”
China data from the weekend showed a decline in manufacturing and services gauges.
That followed weaker-than-expected US growth in the first quarter, casting doubts on the strength of the global expansion after optimism on the economy and earnings pushed stocks to records last month.