Stock futures edge up; dollar steadies, gold slips: markets wrap

The dollar steadied near a more than two-year low while stocks traded mixed in the wake of a fresh all-time high on Wall Street. US and European equity futures rose.

Hong Kong shares saw losses when trading resumed, with the market’s morning session canceled due to a typhoon. Shares rebounded in South Korea from Tuesday’s slide and Australia outperformed. Dampening sentiment were lingering questions over the future of the US-China trade pact after President Donald Trump said he called off last weekend’s trade talks. S&P 500 contracts climbed after the gauge closed above the previous February 19 all-time high. Treasuries ticked higher.

Massive stimulus injections and a surge in technology companies have driven the rebound in American equities from a pandemic-induced selloff. Coronavirus case numbers in the US look to be improving, as evidence grows that the peak of the flareup across Sunbelt states is over. While stimulus talks have stalled, better-than-feared economic data and corporate earnings have instilled optimism that a recovery is taking shape.

“We have a Federal Reserve that is all in, keeping rates low probably across the curve for as far as the eye can see,” Katie Nixon, chief investment officer at Northern Trust Wealth Management, said on Bloomberg TV. “That is supportive of higher valuations.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated that Democrats might cut their stimulus proposal to seal a deal with Republicans and speed Covid-19 relief, then come back after the November elections with additional agenda items. Meanwhile, China denounced the US’s latest moves to curb Huawei’s access to commercially available chips, the latest blow in an increasingly tense relationship between the world’s two biggest economies.

Elsewhere, oil eased from a five-month high after a report signaled surging US gasoline stockpiles before OPEC and its allies meet to assess its supply agreement. Gold slipped back below $2,000 an ounce.

Here are some key events coming up:

• Target Corp. and Nvidia Corp. report on Wednesday. Results from Alibaba and Qantas Airways are due Thursday.
• Minutes of the latest FOMC meeting are due Wednesday.
• The EIA’s crude oil inventory report comes out Wednesday.
• The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee — the panel that reviews the OPEC+ agreement — is due to meet on Wednesday.
• US jobless claims for the week ended August 15 are due Thursday.
• China’s loan prime rate is due Thursday.
• Euro-area PMIs will be released on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the S&P 500 gained 0.2% as of 6:37 a.m. in Tokyo. The index rose 0.2% on Tuesday.
• Japan’s Topix index added 0.2%.
• Shanghai Composite lost 0.1%.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7%.
• South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7%.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.7%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures climbed 0.3%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady.
• The euro bought $1.1934, little changed.
• The yen slid 0.1% to 105.54 per dollar.
• The offshore yuan traded at 6.9149 per dollar, down 0.1%.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was down one basis point at 0.66%.
• Australia’s 10-year yield was at 0.87%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.7% to $42.61 a barrel.
• Gold was at $1,992.23 an ounce, down 0.5%.

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