Stocks Rise on Earnings, Oil as Treasuries Decline: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks edged higher as investors parsed a mixed bag of earnings and rising oil prices boosted energy producers. Treasuries fell and the dollar advanced amid signs geopolitical tensions are easing.

The S&P 500 eked out a third straight gain, with the advance fading in the final half hour of trading amid light volume. IBM Corp.’s weak results dragged the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a loss. Oil surged around 3 percent after an industry report showed crude inventories fell, driving energy stocks higher.

Treasury yields rose toward 2.87 percent in the wake of a Federal Reserve report Wednesday that showed trade concerns cast a shadow over an otherwise solid outlook for the economy. The dollar gained for a second day after the U.S. said it’s already started direct talks with North Korea and Russian leader Vladimir Putin was said to be seeking to dial down tensions with America.

“It’s important to note that whenever we get periods where the politics are quiet or looking like they’re going to stabilize, markets are doing well,” George Maris, Janus Henderson’s co-head of equities, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “And the reason for that is the underpinning of the economy and of companies right now is really good.”

There’s once again no shortage of catalysts for investors across the globe, from corporate fundamentals and geopolitics to simmering trade tensions and growth concerns. The bulls appear to have the upper hand as the earnings season starts.

Elsewhere, nickel surged to the highest in more than three years on the London Metal Exchange on worries that the metal used in stainless steel could be caught in the crossfire of any further sanctions against Russia. Turkey’s lira extended gains after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for snap elections.

Terminal users can read more in our markets live blog.

Here’s what to watch out for this week:

• Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from around the world gather for spring meetings at the IMF in Washington.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent to 2,708.64 as of 4 p.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.3 percent.
• The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index gained 1.3 percent to the highest in two months.
• Germany’s DAX Index rose 0.1 percent.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index advanced 1 percent, the biggest rise in more than a week.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent.
• The euro was steady at $1.2373.
• The British pound decreased 0.6 percent to $1.4199.
• The Japanese yen fell 0.2 percent to 107.23 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased four basis points to 2.87 percent, the highest in more than three weeks.
• Germany’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to 0.53 percent.
• Britain’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 1.414 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 3.4 percent to $68.76 a barrel.
• Copper surged 2.6 percent to $3.18 a pound, the highest in five weeks.
• Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,348.47 an ounce.
• LME nickel surged 8 percent to $15,335 per metric ton, the highest in more than three years on the biggest jump in more than six years.

--With assistance from Paul Dobson Janine Wolf Samuel Potter and Sarah Ponczek

To contact the reporter on this story: Randall Jensen in New York at rjensen18@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Yakob Peterseil

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