Stocks Climb on Earnings as Treasury Yields Drop: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) --

U.S. stocks capped the week with a record close on better-than-forecast earnings. Treasury yields fell after data signaled tepid inflation.

The S&P 500 Index set an all-time high as positive surprises from Amazon and Ford overshadowed disappointments for Intel and Exxon Mobil. Ten-year government bond yields dipped to 2.5 percent following a report showing underlying weakness in the economy even amid faster growth in the first quarter. The dollar pared its second consecutive weekly increase. Oil tumbled.

At the end of a busy week for earnings, investors cheered better-than-expected results and took comfort in a not-too-hot, not-too-cold first-quarter gross domestic product report. U.S. GDP expanded at a 3.2 percent annualized rate in the January-March period, according to Commerce Department data Friday that topped all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. But underlying demand was softer than the headline number indicated, with weak consumer spending and a gauge of inflation coming in below policy makers’ target.

“We shouldn’t forget where we are in the business cycle,” said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy for E*Trade Financial Corp. “Many sectors are still tempering expectations for the future.”

Read more: Stocks, the Dollar and Oil Are Driving Markets

The Stoxx Europe 600 edged higher as losses for energy producers were offset by gains in media companies. Shares were marginally lower in Asia as an unexpected tumble in Japanese industrial production underscored worries over the global expansion, while the yuan edged up after President Xi Jinping said China won’t engage in currency depreciation.

Elsewhere, developing-nation currencies and shares were slightly higher.

These are the main market moves:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 percent at the close of trading in New York.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.1 percent.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.1 percent.
• The euro added 0.1 percent to $1.1148.
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 111.6 per dollar.
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index rose 0.2 percent.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 2.5 percent.
• Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.02 percent.
• Britain’s 10-year yield slipped one basis point to 1.14 percent.

Commodities

• The Bloomberg Commodity Index dipped 0.6 percent.
• West Texas oil fell 3.5 percent to $62.90 a barrel.
• Copper climbed 0.9 percent to $2.893 a pound.
• Gold climbed 0.7 percent to $1,285.67 an ounce.

--With assistance from Cormac Mullen, Eddie van der Walt and Liz Capo McCormick.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vildana Hajric in New York at vhajric1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Samuel Potter at spotter33@bloomberg.net, Brendan Walsh

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