Stocks Climb, Led by Big Tech; Crude Oil Declines: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks advanced, led by gains in the biggest technology companies, as investors weighed the chances Democratic lawmakers and the White House will reach a deal for a fiscal-stimulus package. Oil tumbled on concern the market may be oversupplied.

The Nasdaq 100 reached the highest in almost a month as Amazon.com, Microsoft and Tesla rose. The S&P 500 Index’s advance was limited by declines in energy producers. Trading was volatile, with stocks pushed around by the latest developments in efforts to forge a stimulus bill acceptable to Democrats and Republicans. Talks were set to continue Thursday as officials sought a breakthrough.

European stocks closed slightly higher. Gold advanced, while Treasury yields dipped. Oil tumbled to about $39 a barrel on concern about oversupply amid sluggish economic growth.

U.S. stock markets have been whipsawed this week by speculation over whether lawmakers will agree to provide new pandemic-relief aid amid high unemployment and growing rates of infection in some areas. While the S&P 500 Index is up more than 50% from its March low, it’s still down more than 5% from a record high reached last month.

In Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading for the entire day Thursday because of technical problems. The exchange will replace hardware and restart its system, aiming to resume trading Friday.

Here are some key events coming up:

• The September U.S. employment report on Friday will be the last before the November election.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2%.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.3%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.3%.
• The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2889.
• The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 105.56 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 0.68%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.54%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield climbed less than one basis point to 0.23%.
• New Zealand’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 0.505%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled 3.8% to $38.70 a barrel.
• Gold strengthened 1% to $1,905.27 an ounce.
• Silver rose 2.5% to $23.81 per ounce.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.