U.S. Stocks Drop From Record Highs; Crude Declines: Markets Wrap

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30 Nov 2019, 03:03 AM IST

U.S. Stocks Drop From Record Highs; Crude Declines: Markets Wrap

A Wall Street street sign hangs in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S. (Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) --

U.S. stocks dropped from record highs in the wake of lower European and Asian equities, rounding out a lackluster finale to the third straight month of gains for global benchmarks. The dollar strengthened.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all finished lower as trading resumed on Wall Street after the Thanksgiving break. Shares of energy and consumer discretionary goods companies were the biggest decliners, with overall trading volume about 16% below the 30-day average. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slumped, while Asian shares closed lower.

Treasuries were mixed as they returned to trading post-holiday. The dollar posted a ninth straight session of gains, the longest winning streak since January 2016. U.S. equity markets closed at 1 p.m. New York time, while bond trading ended an hour later.

”It looks like it will be a lazy day with the U.S. half day of trading,” said Didier Anthamatten, senior portfolio manager at Unigestion SA. “Very low liquidity and most of the traders digesting the turkey.”

Investors are hungry for evidence of progress on a China-U.S. trade deal, with the next batch of American tariffs on Chinese goods due to begin Dec. 15 and additional tension building over Hong Kong. China’s foreign ministry warned again of unspecified retaliation for U.S. President Donald Trump’s signing of legislation that expresses support for protesters in Hong Kong.

“The real issue is not the Hong Kong bill,” Macquarie Group’s Thierry Wizman told Bloomberg TV. “The real issue is whether or not if you do not see convergence on those negotiations by Dec. 15, do we get an increase, a scheduled increase, in those U.S. tariffs and does that derail the negotiations?”

Elsewhere, West Texas-grade oil traded dropped below $57 a barrel amid signals OPEC and allied crude producers are averse to deepening output cuts when they convene next week. The won closed lower in normal trading hours after the Bank of Korea kept its policy rate unchanged, as expected.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index sank 0.4% to 3,140.98 as of 1:20 p.m. New York time, the first retreat in more than a week and the largest decrease in more than seven weeks.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.5% to 8,665.47, the first retreat in more than a week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 28,051.41, hitting the lowest in a week with the first retreat in more than a week.

Germany’s DAX Index declined 0.1% to 13,236.38, the lowest in a week.

The MSCI All-Country World Index sank 0.5% to 546.67, the lowest in a week on the largest decrease in more than seven weeks.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed at 1,209.08, the first retreat in more than a week.

The euro climbed 0.1% to $1.1017.

The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.47 per dollar, the biggest climb in more than a week.

The British pound increased 0.2% to $1.2934, the strongest in more than a week.

Bonds

The yield on two-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 1.61%.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 1.78%, the highest in more than a week.

Germany’s 10-year yield gained less than one basis point to -0.36%.

Britain’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 0.697%, the highest in a week.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude sank 4.6% to $55.42 a barrel, the lowest in more than a week on the biggest tumble in more than 10 weeks.

Gold strengthened 0.6% to $1,463.92 an ounce, the highest in more than a week on the largest climb in more than four weeks.

--With assistance from Todd White.

To contact the reporters on this story: Vildana Hajric in New York at vhajric1@bloomberg.net;Claire Ballentine in New York at cballentine@bloomberg.net

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