U.S. Stocks Rise to Record, Treasuries Gain on Fed: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks advanced to an all-time high after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected and signaled it was unlikely to move in either direction any time soon as inflation remains muted. Treasuries extended gains and the dollar erased an advance.

The S&P 500 turned higher when Chairman Jerome Powell said rate hikes won’t occur as long as inflation remains persistently cool. That fueled a rally in Treasuries and sent the dollar lower. Prior to the comment, risk assets were under pressure after hawks saw a change in the policy statement’s language -- removing “act as appropriate” -- as signaling officials will not make any further cuts this year.

“Markets believe that, irrespective of easing trade issues, there is a gigantic pause on future rate increases unless and until inflation moves markedly higher,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group. “The Federal Reserve just put a big stake in the ground on the future rate path.”

After the close of trading, Apple, Starbucks and Facebook advanced after posting results. Twitter fell after saying it won’t accept political advertisements.

Equities had spent most of the day treading water as investors digested the latest batch of earnings and trade headlines. Shares fell to session lows when Chile canceled next month’s APEC meeting where the U.S. and China intended to sign a partial trade pact.

Johnson & Johnson led gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Yum Brands, C.H. Robinson and Molson Coors slumped after reporting results. General Electric jumped after raising its forecast while Mattel soared after a sales beat. Data showed the U.S. economy rose 1.9% in the third quarter and a report on private hiring showed solid gains, with both data sets topping estimates.

“This quarter’s results suggest that recession fears may have been overblown, and the U.S. economy is simply going through another growth scare, akin to late 2015/early 2016,” said Michael Reynolds, investment strategy officer at Glenmede.

Earnings also set the tone in Europe, where the Stoxx 600 added 0.1%. Total’ profit beat analyst estimates and cash flow held firm, Airbus cut its full-year delivery target and Volkswagen lowered its outlook for vehicle deliveries. Deutsche Bank saw earnings from trading debt securities and currencies drop 13%, Credit Suisse Group posted better-than-expected profit and Standard Chartered generated 19% more revenue in Europe and the Americas. PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles rose after saying they’re in talks about a tie-up.

Elsewhere, the pound strengthened after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson won backing in Parliament for a Dec. 12 election. The euro was steady after data showed France’s economy grew more than expected in the third quarter, but economic confidence in the broader region extended a slide. Oil fluctuated and gold rose.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

• Earnings include: Apple and Facebook on Wednesday; Mitsubishi Heavy on Thursday; Exxon Mobil and Macquarie Group on Friday.
• The Fed is expected to lower the main interest rate when policy makers decide on Wednesday.
• The Fed’s preferred inflation metric, the core PCE deflator, is due Thursday.
• The Bank of Japan sets policy on Thursday and Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a news conference.
• Friday brings the monthly U.S. non-farm payrolls report.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index rose 0.3% at 4 p.m. New York time.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4% and the Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.4%.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.1%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.2%.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 0.2%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
• The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1137.
• The Japanese yen added 0.1% to 108.79 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries lost five basis points to 1.78%.
• The two-year yield slipped two basis points to 1.62%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield was flat at -0.35%.

Commodities

• Gold futures increased 0.2% to $1,494.10 an ounce.
• West Texas Intermediate crude declined 1.4% to $54.77 a barrel.

--With assistance from Samuel Potter.

To contact the reporters on this story: Vildana Hajric in New York at vhajric1@bloomberg.net;Sarah Ponczek in New York at sponczek2@bloomberg.net

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

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