Stocks drift as yields trim gain; oil rises: markets wrap

Asian stocks drifted with US futures Tuesday and commodity markets steadied as investors weighed talk of stimulus withdrawal and a resurgence in the delta variant. The dollar held overnight gains, while 10-year Treasury yields dipped.

Equities rose in Japan, which reopened after a holiday, as well as in Hong Kong and China. US futures edged lower. Earlier, the S&P 500 closed little changed, while the Nasdaq 100 ticked up. Crude oil pared a decline after it touched the lowest in three weeks on concern the delta strain will hamper demand growth.

Gold was steady after Monday’s volatility and Bitcoin traded back around $46 000.

Investors mulled comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic that the central bank should move to taper its asset purchases with another strong month or two of employment gains, and proceed faster than in past episodes. US inflation data this week will be closely watched after Friday’s jobs report fanned expectations that unwinding will start soon.

At the same time, the spread of the highly contagious delta in corners of the world has raised concern the recovery from the pandemic will be derailed. New coronavirus cases in the US surged to the highest weekly level since early February, while deaths increased the most since December.

“What we are experiencing right now is a pause in the recovery,” Loreen Gilbert, WealthWise Financial chief executive officer, said on Bloomberg Television. “Investors should expect some volatility in the markets as we sort out what the Fed is going to do, as we sort out the delta variant.”

Here are some key events to watch out for this week:

• Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester; Kansas City Fed President Esther George among Fed speakers through the week
• The US consumer price index on Wednesday is forecast to show prices increased again in July
• OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report due Thursday

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures slid 0.1% as of 7:04 a.m. in London. The S&P 500 was little changed
• Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%
• Topix index rose 0.4%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3%
• Kospi index fell 0.7%
• Hang Seng Index rose 0.8%
• Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.1%

Currencies

• The Japanese yen was little changed at 110.37 per dollar
• The offshore yuan traded at 6.4794 per dollar, up 0.1%
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro traded at $1.1735

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was at 1.32%
• Australia’s 10-year bond yield was at 1.21%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.4% to $67.38 a barrel
• Gold was at $1 734.55 an ounce, up 0.3%