U.S. Stocks Slip as OPEC Outlook Supports Crude: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- The S&P 500 slipped following stock declines in Europe and Asia amid concern over the escalating protectionist standoff between China and the U.S. Oil gained before a key OPEC meeting this week.

U.S. equity gauges came off their lows of the day as energy shares advanced along with software makers. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index posted its biggest two-day drop since March and Japan’s Topix Index fell the most in almost three weeks. Crude climbed as producers were discussed a smaller-than-expected boost to production. Treasury yields were little changed after trading near the lowest level this month.

Global trade is firmly back at the top of the agenda, with investors fretting about the intensifying confrontation between the U.S. and China. The Asian nation swiftly responded after President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on $50 billion of imports late last week, putting an additional 25 percent levy on $34 billion of American agricultural and auto exports starting July 6.

“The relative policy calm was shattered late in the week as trade tensions escalated,” David Joy, the chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial Inc., said in a note. “There is still time for negotiation. But the inexorable march toward a trade war with China took a significant step forward.”

Meanwhile in Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May face tough weeks over migration and Brexit, respectively. Trump said in a tweet that the German people “are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition.”

An index of emerging-market currencies fell for a fifth day, leaving it on track for the biggest quarterly decline since September 2015. Developing-nation equities extended a drop after their worst weekly performance in a month, with an MSCI index retreating for a fourth day.

Terminal users can read more in Bloomberg’s Markets Live blog.

Here are some key events to watch for this week:

• European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks at ECB’s Forum on Central Banking on Tuesday.
• U.S. housing starts probably rose in May, data out Tuesday is expected to show.
• Draghi, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell join a panel on central bank policy in Sintra, Portugal, on Wednesday.
• Thailand, Philippines and Brazil central bank decisions due Wednesday.
• Bank of England rate decision on Thursday.
• Also on Thursday: U.S. jobless claims, New Zealand GDP, South Korea export data.
• The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna on Friday.

And here are the main market moves:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent at the close of trading in New York.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.8 percent.
• Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.8 percent to the lowest in more than a week.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.7 percent to the lowest since December.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed, near the highest in 11 months.
• The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.1618.
• The British pound fell 0.3 percent to $1.324.
• The Japanese yen rose 0.1 percent to 110.57 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.92 percent.
• Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 0.39 percent.
• Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.32 percent.

Commodities

• Gold was little changed at $1,278.61 an ounce.
• WTI oil rose 1.1 percent to $65.79 a barrel.

--With assistance from Andreea Papuc, David Marino, Todd White, Robert Brand, Samuel Potter and Christopher Anstey.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sarah Ponczek in New York at sponczek2@bloomberg.net;Janine Wolf in New York at jwolf71@bloomberg.net

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

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