S&P 500 Hits Fresh Highs as Long-Term Bonds Drop: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks rose to all-time highs as calls about heightened market volatility failed to materialize after Donald Trump’s assassination attack bolstered his chances of taking over the White House.

All major equity indexes gained, with the S&P 500 set for its 38th record this year. Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. soared 35%. The candidate’s rising odds of victory bolstered oil producers, gun makers, private prisons and health insurers. Trump’s pro-crypto stance lifted Bitcoin and the industry’s companies. Tesla Inc. rallied as Elon Musk endorsed Trump. Shares of solar energy firms slumped, given Democrats are seen as being more friendly toward the industry.

Treasury 30-year yields rose above the two-year for the first time since January on bets that Trump would pursue a more expansive fiscal policy if he wins the November election. The dollar was little changed.

“We were shocked by the attempt on former President Trump’s life, but suspect that markets will digest the news quickly and with little fanfare,” said John Stoltzfus at Oppenheimer Asset Management. “Shocking events tend not to deter investors, who we expect will remain focused on economic and earnings results.”

The S&P 500 rose to about 5,640. A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps climbed almost 2%. Apple Inc. advanced after being named a top pick at Morgan Stanley. The Russell 2000 of smaller firms added 1.5%. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. whipsawed amid a surge in profits and plans to moderate the pace of buybacks. Macy’s Inc. tumbled after ending buyout talks.

With little in the way of scheduled economic data, traders are set to pay close attention to Federal Reserve speakers. Among the highlights: Jerome Powell talks Monday, following his congressional testimony last week.

The chances of the presumptive Republican candidate, who was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, winning a second term increased in the aftermath of the attack, according to PredictIt data.

The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, held Monday through Thursday, marks the culmination of Trump’s takeover of the party. Viewers will also get an answer to the question swirling for months: He will unveil his vice presidential pick during the convention, heightening the suspense of a closely held decision he has teased for weeks.

“We may get a little rally, a Trump bump if you will” and could experience some volatility as political rhetoric will heat up into the Republican Convention,” said Jay Woods at Freedom Capital Markets.

Corporate Highlights:

• BlackRock Inc. hauled in $51 billion of client cash to its long-term investment funds in the second quarter, pushing the world’s largest money manager to a record $10.6 trillion of assets.
• AutoNation Inc., one of the biggest chains of US car dealerships, warned the cyberattack that crippled retailers across the country until early this month cost the company a significant chunk of second-quarter earnings.
• International Business Machines Corp.’s proposed $6.4 billion takeover of software maker HashiCorp Inc. will undergo an in-depth antitrust review by the US Federal Trade Commission.
• Google parent Alphabet Inc. is in talks to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz Inc., according to a person familiar with the matter.
• Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. agreed to buy Canadian steelmaker Stelco Holdings Inc. for about C$3.85 billion ($2.8 billion), in the company’s first major move after losing out in its bid for United States Steel Corp. last year.

Key events this week:

• Germany ZEW survey expectations, Tuesday
• US retail sales, business inventories, Tuesday
• Morgan Stanley, Bank of America earnings, Tuesday
• Fed’s Adriana Kugler speaks, Tuesday
• Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
• US housing starts, industrial production, Wednesday
• Fed Beige Book, Wednesday
• Fed’s Thomas Barkin speaks, Wednesday
• ECB rate decision, Thursday
• US initial jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed manufacturing, Conference Board LEI, Thursday
• Fed’s Mary Daly, Lorie Logan and Michelle Bowman speak, Thursday
• Fed’s John Williams, Raphael Bostic speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 10:29 a.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%
• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1%
• The MSCI World Index rose 0.3%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
• The euro was little changed at $1.0916
• The British pound was little changed at $1.2989
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.90 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 4.6% to $62,870.8
• Ether rose 4.7% to $3,351.57

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.23%
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 2.48%
• Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.11%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $81.75 a barrel
• Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,423.76 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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