Equities Stall; Dollar Gauge Weaker Despite Yen: Markets Wrap

U.S. equity-index futures struggled for direction as investors remained on the edge over the direction of monetary policy and corporate earnings. The yen tumbled against the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept monetary settings unchanged.

(Bloomberg) — U.S. equity-index futures struggled for direction as investors remained on the edge over the direction of monetary policy and corporate earnings. The yen tumbled against the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept monetary settings unchanged.

Contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes were little changed after a choppy session in New York Tuesday amid diverging results from Wall Street banks. A gauge of the dollar’s strength slid despite gains against the yen. Treasuries advanced after the BOJ voted unanimously to maintain its yield curve control program. West Texas Intermediate oil futures headed for the longest streak of gains in four years amid bets for improved demand from China.

In the premarket session in New York, Moderna Inc. climbed 5.9% after saying its vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus infections met targets. International Business Machines Corp. fell after Morgan Stanley cut its recommendation on the stock.

Investors are focusing on indicators of growth and inflation to assess when exactly will the Federal Reserve and other major central banks halt their interest-rate increases. Data including Taiwan’s economic contraction in the fourth quarter and slowing UK inflation as well as a more muted start to the US earnings-reporting season boosted those who believe monetary easing would have to begin this year.

The yen dropped 1.1% against the dollar after Japan’s policymakers doubled down on defending their stimulus, defying intense market speculation. But, even as investors remain on guard for the central bank to continue large scale bond buying to protect its yield goal, there are doubts about how long it can continue.

Fed officials Raphael Bostic, Lorie Logan and Patrick Harker will speak Wednesday, providing potential clues on the outlook for rates in the world’s largest economy.

The yen’s plunge proved to be an idiosyncratic trend in the foreign-exchange markets as the dollar fell against all but five of its 31 major peers including the Japanese currency.

Moderna rose in early New York trading after its RSV shot proved highly effective in preventing lung disease in older patients. IBM fell as Morgan Stanley cut the stock to equal-weight from overweight.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 rose for a sixth day, its longest streak since November 2021, but the gains were shaky amid losses for half of its industry groups including real estate and chemicals shares.

Treasuries rose across the curve, with longer-dated bonds posting bigger yield reductions than shorter-dated ones. UK bonds rallied after the consumer price index eased for a second month in December, suggesting inflation has peaked in the country.

Oil futures headed for a ninth day of advances on optimism Chinese demand will recover rapidly following the abandonment of Covid Zero.

Iron ore rose for a second day amid China’s improving economic outlook. Gold erased a drop.

Key events this week:

Euro-zone CPI, Wednesday
US retail sales, PPI, industrial production, business inventories, MBA mortgage applications, cross-border investment, Wednesday
Federal Reserve releases Beige Book, Wednesday
Fed speakers include Raphael Bostic, Lorie Logan and Patrick Harker, Wednesday
US housing starts, initial jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed index, Thursday
ECB account of its December policy meeting and President Christine Lagarde on a panel in Davos, Thursday
Fed speakers include Susan Collins and John Williams, Thursday
Japan CPI, Friday
China loan prime rates, Friday
US existing home sales, Friday
IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva and ECB’s Lagarde speak in Davos, Friday

Here are some of the main market moves:

Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1% as of 10:19 a.m. London time
S&P 500 futures were little changed
Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5%
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3%

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
The euro rose 0.7% to $1.0860
The Japanese yen fell 1% to 129.38 per dollar
The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 6.7561 per dollar
The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2347

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 0.4% to $21,241.46
Ether fell 0.2% to $1,578.55

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined six basis points to 3.49%
Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.09%
Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.37%

Commodities

Brent crude rose 1.3% to $87.07 a barrel
Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,912.78 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Richard Henderson.

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