(Bloomberg) — European stocks fluctuated in light trading as investors focused on travel restrictions and U.S.-China trade tensions. Chinese shares gained after the central bank boosted liquidity, while oil rose before an OPEC+ gathering this week.
Airlines, travel agencies and real estate companies were the biggest drags on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, while commodity producers climbed. S&P 500 futures pointed to a positive open in the U.S. day. The dollar weakened against most of its peers. The Shanghai Composite climbed more than 2% after China’s central bank supplied liquidity to commercial lenders to help them manage upcoming government bond sales.
“The economy is going to continue to reopen as we move into the end of this year,” Brett Ewing, chief market strategist at First Franklin Financial Services, said on Bloomberg TV. “If you can buy into that story, you need to be ahead of money flowing into these value and cyclical stocks — if you wait for a vaccine to come out, you’re going to be missing probably the biggest opportunity right now.”
The U.S. and China postponed talks planned for over the weekend that had been aimed at reviewing progress at the six-month mark of their phase-one trade agreement, people familiar with the matter said. Friction continues between the two powers amid President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Trump on Friday officially ordered the Chinese owner of the popular music video app TikTok to sell its U.S. assets, citing national security grounds.
The nearly 50% recovery in global equities since the March lows has left an MSCI gauge close to its all-time high as investors bet central banks and governments will keep providing support for ailing economies trying to rebound from virus shutdowns. Minutes due to be released on Wednesday from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting may yield clues about whether officials plan to introduce new language in September.
Here are some key events coming up:
Earnings include Alibaba, JD.com, Walmart, Home Depot, BHP Group, Nvidia and Qantas.The EIA’s crude oil inventory report comes out Wednesday.The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee — the panel that reviews the OPEC+ agreement — is due to meet on Wednesday.U.S. jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 15 are due Thursday.China’s loan prime rate is due Thursday.Euro-area PMIs will be released on Friday
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
Futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.3% as of 8:56 a.m. London time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.2%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.1%.The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.5%.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank 0.1%.The euro climbed 0.1% to $1.1849.The British pound increased 0.1% to $1.3097.The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1% to 106.49 per dollar.The offshore yuan strengthened 0.1% to 6.9376 per dollar.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries sank two basis points to 0.69%.The yield on two-year Treasuries climbed less than one basis point to 0.15%.Germany’s 10-year yield dipped less than one basis point to -0.43%.Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.236%.Japan’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.012%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.1% to $42.26 a barrel.Brent crude increased 0.1% to $45.01 a barrel.Gold strengthened 0.5% to $1,954.99 an ounce.
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