Stocks Mixed as Traders Await Data for Rate Clues: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks traded mixed as investors awaited an annual review of US jobs data as well as Federal Reserve meeting minutes for further clues on interest rate cuts.

US equity futures pointed to small moves at the Wall Street open as Europe’s Stoxx 600 edged 0.2% higher amid thin volumes. The yield on 10-year Treasuries was steady at 3.81%, while the dollar paused a three-day run of declines.

Anticipation is mounting before Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech at the end of the week that could decide whether the market rebound has further to run. As traders look to Wednesday’s payrolls revisions, there’s concern signs of excessive weakness will revive fears the Fed is behind the curve on lowering rates.

“Given that the US labor market is at the center of the Fed’s policy, the publication is of unusually high interest,” said Amanda Sundstrom, interim chief strategist for Norway at SEB AB. “A large downward revision in the number of new jobs created could add new fuel to concerns that the Fed has waited too long to cut interest rates.” 

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. economists expect the government’s preliminary benchmark revisions on Wednesday to show payrolls growth in the year through March was at least 600,000 weaker than currently estimated. While JPMorgan Chase & Co. forecasters see a decline of about 360,000, Goldman indicates it could be as large as a million.

Dollar, Gold

Rate-cut bets have driven a bout of dollar weakness, but the US currency halted the slide on Wednesday on speculation the drop may be overdone.

“The dollar selloff is taking a breather given the speed of recent losses,” said Valentin Marinov, a Credit Agricole strategist in London. 

A lot of Fed-related negatives appear to be priced in already as the US rates market prices in almost 100 basis points of cuts this year, he said.

Gold held steady near a record high after the dollar’s recent run of losses. A weaker greenback typically aids gold as it is priced in the US currency.

Meanwhile, stocks in Asia snapped a three-day winning streak, dragged down by Chinese stocks in Hong Kong. 

Technology stocks dipped on concerns over the country’s consumption outlook, Walmart Inc.’s planned sale of its stake in JD.com Inc. and poor earnings from key players including Kuaishou Technology. 

Key events this week:

• US Fed minutes, BLS preliminary annual payrolls revision, Wednesday
• Eurozone HCOB PMI, consumer confidence, Thursday
• ECB publishes account of July rate decision, Thursday
• US initial jobless claims, existing home sales, S&P Global PMI, Thursday
• Japan CPI, Friday
• Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda to attend special session at Japan’s parliament to discuss July 31 rate hike, Friday
• US new home sales, Friday
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks at Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 6:31 a.m. New York time
• Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed
• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2%
• The MSCI World Index was little changed

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.1125
• The British pound was unchanged at $1.3034
• The Japanese yen fell 0.6% to 146.07 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin was little changed at $59,323.52
• Ether fell 0.2% to $2,584.82

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.81%
• Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.22%
• Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.92%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $73.62 a barrel
• Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,507.71 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Rob Verdonck, Jeanny Yu, Winnie Hsu and Ruth Carson.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.