Stocks Decline; Retail Sales Miss Lifts Treasuries: Markets Wrap

All you need to know about global markets this morning

18 Oct 2019, 03:41 AM IST

Stocks Decline; Retail Sales Miss Lifts Treasuries: Markets Wrap

Signage is displayed inside the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, U.S. (Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, led by energy and technology shares, as investors mulled earnings reports and the prospects of trade negotiations. Treasuries rose after retail sales unexpectedly declined.

In earnings, Bank of America jumped after deal fees surged, continuing a string of strong bank results. Nexflix rose in after-hour trading on positive results. The dollar also edged lower after the retail sales report renewed expectations for an October rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

“Earnings are not so bad that it causes any sort of violent market reaction,” said Jeff Mills, chief investment officer at Bryn Mawr Trust Co. “But I don’t think they’re going to surprise enough to the upside to be a catalyst for a breakout.”

The S&P 500 briefly climbed from the lows of the day after President Donald Trump said a trade deal with China probably will not be signed until he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit next month in Chile.

The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped, while benchmark indexes in Asia finished mostly higher, though most gauges trimmed the gains after China threatened to retaliate if the U.S. offered legislative support to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Stocks dipped in Shanghai and the yuan weakened.

The pound strengthened amid signs European leaders are getting ready to gather in Brussels to clinch a deal that will see the U.K. part ways with the European Union.

Elsewhere, Turkish stocks fell with the lira after the U.S. brought a criminal case against one of the nation’s largest banks, in what could be an escalation of Washington’s efforts to reprimand Ankara for its military incursion into northern Syria. Crude oil futures rose. Gold ticked higher.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

China releases third-quarter GDP, September industrial production and retail sales data on Friday.

Here are the main movers in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2% to 2,990.03 as of 4:00 p.m. New York time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% to 27,007.

The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 0.3% to 8,124.18.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1% to 393.46.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% to 1,204.15, the lowest in two months.

The euro advanced 0.4% to $1.1075, the strongest in almost seven weeks on the biggest gain in almost four weeks.

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1% to 108.77 per dollar.

The British pound advanced 0.3% to $1.2826, the strongest in five months.

Bonds

The yield on two-year Treasuries decreased three basis points to 1.59%.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined three basis points to 1.75%.

Germany’s 10-year yield climbed three basis points to -0.39%, the highest in more than 11 weeks.

Britain’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 0.713%, the highest in a month.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1% to $53.32 a barrel.

Gold strengthened 0.6% to $1,489.90 an ounce.

--With assistance from Robert Brand.

To contact the reporters on this story: Claire Ballentine in New York at cballentine@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, Dave Liedtka