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U.S. Stocks Weather Late Slide to Finish Higher: Markets Wrap

Asian stocks drifted at the open Tuesday after snapping two weeks of declines Monday.

U.S. Stocks Weather Late Slide to Finish Higher: Markets Wrap
An employee interprets data from a graph (Photographer: Natalie Behring/Bloomberg)

U.S. stocks closed higher as gains in technology shares helped offset a late slide in financials. Crude oil pushed higher, while the dollar was little changed.

The S&P 500 rose for a third consecutive trading session, led by communication services, real estate and consumer discretionary shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. pushed financials into the red.

“The market’s trying to figure out what to do next, and in those times you always see volatility,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust in Santa Ana, California, which has around $2 billion in assets under management. “We’ve been trying to figure out if this tech run is here to stay.”

In Europe, Hennes & Mauritz AB led a rally among fashion retailers after beating profit estimates. Investors in Germany unexpectedly raised their expectations for the country’s economy. The offshore yuan climbed to the highest level in a year and stocks in Shanghai advanced on evidence that China is accelerating out of the virus slump.

U.S. Stocks Weather Late Slide to Finish Higher: Markets Wrap

Investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting Wednesday to gauge the outlook for markets following a slide of about 2% in global stocks this month. The Fed is expected to maintain its dovish stance after earlier saying it will shift to a more relaxed approach on inflation. Central bank largesse is shoring up sentiment in the face of risks from the pandemic, the U.S. presidential election and the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

Here are some key events coming up:

  • Wednesday sees the FOMC policy decision and news conference from Chair Jerome Powell.
  • Bank of Japan, Bank Indonesia and Bank of England policy decisions come Thursday.
  • Friday sees quadruple witching -- the quarterly expiration of futures and options on indexes and stocks -- in U.S. markets
U.S. Stocks Weather Late Slide to Finish Higher: Markets Wrap

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • The S&P 500 Index increased 0.5% to 3,401.13 as of 4:02 p.m. New York time, the highest in more than a week.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 27,994.42, the highest in more than a week.
  • The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.2% to 11,190.32, the highest in more than a week.
  • The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.7% to 370.96, the highest in almost two weeks.

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,165.42, the lowest in more than a week.
  • The euro dipped 0.2% to $1.1845, the first retreat in a week.
  • The Japanese yen appreciated 0.3% to 105.46 per dollar, the strongest in more than two weeks.

Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 0.68%.
  • Germany’s 10-year yield climbed less than one basis point to -0.48%.
  • Britain’s 10-year yield gained two basis points to 0.217%.

Commodities

  • West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.8% to $38.29 a barrel, the highest in more than a week.
  • Gold weakened 0.2% to $1,953.71 an ounce.
  • Copper dipped 0.3% to $3.06 a pound.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.