Stocks Post Longest Rally of Year; Dollar Gains: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) --

U.S. stocks rose for a sixth consecutive day and the dollar strengthened as investors remained bullish about U.S.-China trade negotiations and key jobs data tomorrow in Washington.

The benchmark S&P 500 capped the longest rally since February 2018, closing at another six-month high, after fluctuating through most of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished at the highest since October, led by gains in Boeing. Tesla’s record decline in first-quarter deliveries weighed on the Nasdaq. President Donald Trump said after the close of regular U.S. trading that a deal to end the trade war between the U.S. and China isn’t yet ready but a “very monumental” agreement may be announced in about a month.

“There could be a sell-off when the trade deal is done, and maybe some disappointment,” Kevin Divney, Russell Investments senior portfolio manager, said on Bloomberg TV. “But I also think that longer-term, when companies start to digest this and we hear corporate planning, that will be the real catalyst going forward.”

The trade deal being crafted would give Beijing until 2025 to meet commitments on commodity purchases and allow American companies to wholly own enterprises in the Asian nation, three people familiar with the talks said earlier.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met with Trump after two days of talks between Chinese and American trade negotiators. Trump didn’t announce a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to finish the deal.

“The message of the day is it’s more a matter of when and not if,” Burns McKinney, a portfolio manager at Allianz Global Investors, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “It’s very clear that everything that’s gone on here politically, the president needs a policy win so badly, wants a policy win so badly. He wants to point to something.”

Brent crude oil rose above $70 a barrel in London for the first time since November amid signs global inventories are tightening and expectations of new sanctions on Iranian crude.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed lower for the first time in five days, dragged down by oil companies and miners. The pound weakened as the U.K.’s House of Commons passed a bill by a single vote to block a no-deal Brexit, while the euro drifted after a slump in German factory orders.

Elsewhere, Indian bonds declined and the rupee had its biggest drop since early January, after the nation’s central bank cut its key rate. A gauge for emerging markets stocks slipped, and Bitcoin dropped after a two-day 28 percent jump.

Here are some key events coming up:

• The monthly U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show non-farm payrolls up 175,000 in March, versus the 186,000 average over the prior three months, after recent readings whipsawed analysts.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent as of 4:06 p.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq Composite Index eased less than 0.1 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6 percent.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 slumped 0.3 percent, the first drop in five days.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.1 percent.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index eased 0.2 percent.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.2 percent.
• The euro eased 0.2 percent to $1.1216, while the yen weakened about 0.1 percent to 111.55 per dollar.
• The British pound weakened 0.5 percent to $1.3098, the first decrease in four days.
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index fell 0.2 percent.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 2.52 percent.
• Germany’s 10-year yield dropped one basis point to negative 0.008 percent.
• Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.09 percent.

Commodities

• Brent crude rose 0.9 percent to $69.90 a barrel, after climbing to $70.03 earlier.
• Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,293 an ounce.
• The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose less than 0.1 percent.

--With assistance from Todd White.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vildana Hajric in New York at vhajric1@bloomberg.net

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

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