(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks snapped a seven-session winning streak as a plunge in Treasury yields to the lowest since February weighed in financial firms and small caps. A gauge of the dollar strengthened and crude oil turned lower.
The S&P 500 retreated from a record as U.S. markets reopened after the Independence Day holiday, with energy shares leading declines. Banks fell almost 2%. Amazon.com and Apple briefly pushed the Nasdaq 100 to another all-time high. Ride-hailing firm Didi Global Inc. plunged after a Chinese regulator ordered the removal of its platform from app stores, days after its U.S. listing. Yields eased as a gauge of service-sector activity faltered during another week without any fresh note or bond sales.
“Risk appetite is fleeing as investors return from the long holiday weekend with some jittery headlines on more crackdowns from Beijing,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp.
The benchmark 10-year yield fell as much as 7.4 basis points to just under 1.35%, the lowest level since Feb. 24. The 30-year bond’s yield slid 6.9 basis points to 1.971%, testing its 200-day moving average and its first time below 2% since June 21. The session lows were reached shortly after the ISM Services Index for June fell more than expected from May’s record high.
“People start to get nervous when the 10-year gets below 1.45%,” said Sarah Hunt, a money manager at Alpine Woods. “People are worried that it signals that you’re going to have an economic slowdown.”
West Texas Intermediate futures for August fell as much as 3% in New York. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose, making commodities priced in the dollar less attractive to investors. Oil prices earlier surged to a six-year high after a bitter fight between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates plunged OPEC+ into crisis and blocked a supply increase. Investors are assessing the risk of the conflict escalating into a price war that could hamper the global economic recovery and add to inflationary pressures. That, in turn, may strengthen the Federal Reserve’s case for tightening policy.
“There’s still concerns about what happens with the Fed tapering and there’s lack of traction on the fiscal stimulus side,” said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist Advisory Services. “Those uncertainties are just injecting some volatility and then you throw in concerns about peak economic growth. That just feeds into the concerns about — is the best growth behind us?”
Minutes due Wednesday from the Fed’s latest meeting may provide further context on the central bank’s hawkish pivot last month.
The Chinese crackdown has knocked about $42 billion off the market value of firms listed on the Nasdaq’s Golden Dragon China Index, which tracks Chinese ADRs, since the government derailed the planned IPO of giant Ant Group Co. in November. Further moves included a record $2.8 billion fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. after an antitrust probe found it had abused its market dominance, sparking concern about the future of the sector.
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Here are some events to watch this week:
FOMC minutes WednesdayThe Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers meet in Venice on FridayChina PPI and CPI data released on Friday
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 fell 0.8% at 12:25 p.m. New York time, the most since June 18 as of 12:25 p.m. New York timeThe Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%, more than any closing loss since June 18The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1%, more than any closing loss since June 18The MSCI World index fell 0.7%, more than any closing loss since June 18
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.5%, more than any closing gain since June 17The euro slipped 0.4%, more than any closing loss since June 17The British pound slipped 0.5%, more than any closing loss since June 18The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 110.63 per dollar
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points, more than any closing loss since June 18Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points, more than any closing loss since March 1Britain’s 10-year yield declined eight basis points, more than any closing loss in more than 15 months
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.7%, the most since June 17Gold futures rose 0.5%, climbing for the fourth straight day, the longest winning streak since May 20
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