Global Stocks Edge Higher but Trade Tensions Hold in Focus
April 15 2019 - 7:51AM
Dow Jones News
By Donato Paolo Mancini
Global stocks ticked higher Monday after climbing last week, as
trade tensions remained a pressure point amid weakening world
economic growth.
U.S. futures pointed to a 0.2% opening gain for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average and a flat open for the S&P 500. Wells Fargo
& Co. shares shed 1.4% in U.S. premarket trading after the bank
cut its outlook for net interest income. Investors were also
parsing results from Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.,
where profit fell 21%, reflecting a slowdown in trading.
In Europe, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.3% in
midday trade, with its major and regional banks subsectors rising
the most.
Bond yields have recently signaled increased optimism about the
economy, steepening the yield curve -- a bullish sign for
investors. On Monday, 10-year U.S. Treasury yields ticked up to
2.564% from 2.560% Friday afternoon. Yields move inversely to
prices.
"Financials will clearly benefit after having suffered through a
curve flattening for such a prolonged period," said Seema Shah,
global investment strategist at Principal Global Investors.
The WSJ dollar index, which measures the greenback against a
basket of 16 peers, was 0.1% lower.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.3% after rallying in
earlier trading, while Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.4%.
Earnings will remain in focus this week, with big names like
Bank of America and Netflix set to report numbers.
Trade tensions between the U.S. and China remained, though U.S.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the countries were "getting
close to the final round of concluding issues." Two phone calls are
scheduled this week, but in-person meetings will likely be needed
to seal any deal.
"It's very clear that there's a matching will to de-escalate,"
said Trinh Nguyen, a Hong Kong-based senior economist for emerging
Asia, with Natixis. "The extent to which it will be de-escalated is
the question."
"This is why I say extension-trade is the theme of the year,"
she said, referring to markets' tendency to kick the can down the
road. "The global economy cannot take an escalated U.S.-China trade
war, particularly because a U.S. president is up for re-election.
He needs the situation to be smooth-sailing."
Central bank signals and International Monetary Fund remarks
underscored the cautious mood after upbeat U.S. bank earnings last
week buoyed markets, with the S&P 500 notching its third
consecutive week of gains.
In its annual report on global fiscal policies, the IMF singled
out Germany, Korea and Australia as countries that could do more to
boost the slowing global economy, while central banks, including
the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, signaled
continued dovishness.
"Markets currently only want to know whether a rebound of the
global economy is in the cards or not," said Carsten Brzeski, chief
economist at ING in Germany.
Market participants will be paying close attention to Chinese
data, including gross domestic product, later this week.
Later Monday, U.S. and Japanese delegations will meet in
Washington to discuss trade arrangements. The move comes nearly
seven months after both countries agreed to start bilateral trade
talks.
In individual equities, Publicis Groupe SA gained 1.7% after
solid first-quarter numbers. The Wall Street Journal reported
Saturday that Publicis would acquire Epsilon, Alliance Data System
Corp.'s marketing-services business, for $4.4 billion, a move that
will modernize the French giant.
In commodities, Brent crude, the global benchmark, slid 0.8% to
$71.00 a barrel, dragging the Stoxx Europe 600's oil-field service
and equipment subsector. Gold lost 0.5% to $1,288.90 an ounce.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2019 08:36 ET (12:36 GMT)
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