Dollar Slide Worsens With U.S. Stocks Near Records: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- The dollar weakened for a fifth day as the euro rallied amid an ebbing of political risks in the region at the same time turmoil gripped Washington. Technology shares continued a rally, sending the Nasdaq Composite Index to fresh record.

Chipmakers paced gains in U.S. shares Tuesday, while the S&P 500 Index touched an intraday record before selling in defensive shares dragged the measure lower. Treasuries climbed, with yields on the 10-year note holding near 2.32 percent. The greenback fell to a November low, helping emerging-market equities notch a seventh straight gain. Oil’s rally stalled, while gold’s extended to the longest in four weeks.

Investors largely looked past the most recent in a string of negative events that have dogged Trump’s administration, even as the missteps likely add to doubts about his ability to deliver on plans to boost infrastructure spending and cut taxes. Focus instead remains on the strength of the global economy and central bank stimulus, though housing data Tuesday in the U.S. added to signs that growth is having trouble accelerating.

Read our Markets Live blog here.

What investors will be watching:

• Singapore exports and Malaysia CPI for April are due Wednesday, and the Australian jobs report comes a day later.
• The U.S. Energy Information Administration is projected to report that crude stockpiles declined by 2.67 million barrels in the week ended May 12, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
• OPEC’s internal Economic Commission Board meets in Vienna Wednesday to discuss the market in preparation for the group’s formal meeting on May 25.
• Wednesday’s U.K. labor report may reveal pay rose 2.1 percent, down from 2.2 percent.
• Japanese GDP for the first quarter will be out on Thursday.

And here are the main movers:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index fell 0.1 percent to 2,400.67 at 4 p.m. in New York. It earlier touched an all-time high of 2,405.77.
• The Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 indexes added at least 0.3 percent to close at records. AMD Micro Devices Inc. jumped 12 percent on reports of a licensing deal.
• Home Depot Inc. rose 0.9 percent after earnings beat estimates. TJX Cos. slid 4.1 percent and Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. lost 14 percent, the most since May 2014, as results disappointed.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell less than 0.1 percent.
• Emerging market equities rose a seventh day, the longest rally since March.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slid 0.6 percent for a fifth straight loss that left it at the lowest since Nov. 8.
• The euro climbed 1.2 percent to $1.1087, the strongest level since Nov. 4.
• The yen rose 0.6 percent to 113.15 per dollar, after dropping 0.4 percent Monday.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate oil slipped 0.4 percent to settle at $48.66 a barrel in New York, after surging 2.1 percent Monday.
• Brent for July settlement decreased 17 cents to $51.65 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
• Gold futures rose 0.5 percent to settle at $1,236.40 an ounce, up for a fourth session.
• Lead fell to the lowest level since January as weak economic data from China added to worries about metals demand.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries slipped two basis points to 2.33 percent after climbing two basis points Monday.
• Investors piled into long-dated European bond sales on Tuesday with the U.K. and France seeing orders of more than $67 billion following Emmanuel Macron’s election win.

--With assistance from Blaise Robinson Lananh Nguyen and Susanne Barton

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeremy Herron in New York at jherron8@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Eric J. Weiner