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Tech Leads Stock Rebound as Oil Gains With Dollar: Markets Wrap

Asia Stocks Head for Weaker Start; Treasuries Drop: Markets Wrap

Tech Leads Stock Rebound as Oil Gains With Dollar: Markets Wrap
Pedestrians are reflected in an electronic stock board in Tokyo, Japan. (Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg News)

(Bloomberg) -- Tech companies led gains in U.S. stocks on favorable earnings reports as Apple Inc.’s market value reached $1 trillion. The dollar climbed with oil.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose for a third day as Tesla Inc. and payments processor Square Inc. jumped after reporting second-quarter results. Exporters such as Boeing Co., 3M Co. and DowDuPont Inc. weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average after Donald Trump asked his trade representative to consider hiking tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. European equities tracked declines in China spurred by renewed trade concerns.

The dollar strengthened, while the pound dropped as the Bank of England’s hawkish rhetoric failed to convince investors of a brighter economic outlook. Turkey’s lira fell to a record as the U.S. imposed sanctions on its NATO ally over the imprisonment of an American pastor.

Tech Leads Stock Rebound as Oil Gains With Dollar: Markets Wrap

Markets have been under pressure as higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods look increasingly likely, with Trump considering a boost to proposed levies on $200 billion of imports to 25 percent from 10 percent. While China pledged to fight back, it also left the door open for further negotiations.

The gloom on trade is coming up against a mostly-positive earnings season and an upbeat message on the American economy delivered by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Of the almost 400 members of the S&P 500 that have reported earnings this season, about 85 percent of them beat analysts’ estimates. Data due Friday will probably show that the U.S. economy added jobs at a healthy clip again in July.

“On one hand you’ve got the uncertainty from the trade issues,” said Curtis Holden, the chief investment officer at Tanglewood Total Wealth Management in Houston. “But on the flip side you’ve got a very strong, at least at the moment, economic backdrop in the U.S.”

Elsewhere, Italian and Greek bonds sank, while a French 20-year note sale saw the lowest demand in more than a decade. Ten-year JGB yields touched the highest since February 2017 before erasing the increase as the Bank of Japan made an unscheduled offer to buy bonds.

Copper extended a decline. Emerging-market currencies sold off, with the lira and South Africa’s rand leading the way. Oil rallied from the lowest level in more than a month amid signs the drain from the biggest U.S. supply hub will continue.

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Here are some events to watch out for during the remainder of this week:

  • Earnings season continues with Berkshire Hathaway and Toyota among companies reporting results.
  • The U.S. jobs report is on Friday, and is predicted to show a healthy labor market, with 193,000 new jobs.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 percent at the close of trading in New York.
  • The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.8 percent on the largest dip in three weeks.
  • Germany’s DAX Index sank 1.5 percent on the largest tumble in more than five weeks.
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.4 percent.
  • The Shanghai Composite Index retreated 2 percent to the lowest in almost four weeks.

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4 percent to a two-week high.
  • The euro declined 0.6 percent to $1.1592, the weakest in almost five weeks.
  • The British pound dipped 0.8 percent to $1.3019.
  • The Turkish lira decreased 1.5 percent to a record.

Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 2.98 percent.
  • Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.38 percent.
  • Japan’s 10-year yield declined less than one basis point to 0.113 percent.

Commodities

  • The Bloomberg Commodity Index added 0.3 percent.
  • West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.1 percent to $69.05 a barrel.
  • Copper decreased 0.6 percent to $2.73 a pound, a two-week low.
  • Gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,208.95 an ounce, the lowest in more than a year.

--With assistance from Chikafumi Hodo, Andreea Papuc, Adam Haigh, Sheldon Reback, Christopher Anstey, Eddie van der Walt, Yakob Peterseil, Erin Douglas and Sophie Caronello.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Ponczek in New York at sponczek2@bloomberg.net

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

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.