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Stocks Mixed; Oil Rises Most in Almost Three Weeks: Markets Wrap

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Stocks Mixed; Oil Rises Most in Almost Three Weeks: Markets Wrap
A sign for Wall Street and American flags in New York, U.S. (Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

U.S. stocks were mostly mixed as investors sold some of the high-flyers that drove the latest rally that almost pushed U.S. equities back to record highs. Crude oil rallied and the dollar touched a one-week high.

The S&P 500 approached its all-time high reached prior to the coronavirus pandemic, while the tech heavy Nasdaq 100 lost 0.5%. The energy and industrial sectors led gains. Chipmakers led declines amid renewed tensions with China. Media shares dropped on speculation over the cancellation of college football.

“Tech has been one of the few resilient sectors within this whole year, I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw a little bit of pullback in that areas just because it’s been one of the more resilient,” said Katy Kaminski, chief research strategist and a portfolio manager for AlphaSimplex Group’s managed futures strategy.

The S&P 500 Total Return Index, which includes reinvested dividends, rose to an all-time high, exceeding its February peak. The price-only version rose to less than 1% away from breaking out.

Stocks Mixed; Oil Rises Most in Almost Three Weeks: Markets Wrap

Oil gained the most in almost three weeks after Saudi Aramco said demand will continue to improve and traders bet on more U.S. stimulus. Turkey’s lira was weaker even as the banking regulator moved to slow lending in an attempt to stabilize the currency.

In Europe, stocks advanced led by financial companies. Chinese equities climbed on the back of data showing the economy continuing to recover from the pandemic, with consumer inflation accelerating.

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On Saturday, President Donald Trump signed four executive orders to maintain some assistance, including for unemployment benefits, a temporary payroll tax deferral, eviction protection and student-loan relief.

Trump’s policy announcements come as Democrats and Republicans are still negotiating a broader additional virus relief package. The two sides are still trillions of dollars apart on overall spending and on key issues, including aid to state and local governments and the amount of supplementary unemployment benefits.

“We’re entering the week in a precarious position with the S&P 500 within earshot of an all-time high,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investment product at E*Trade Financial. “Whether it breaks through that psychologically important barrier depends on how the market is able to take looming trade tensions and Washington machinations in stride.”

Elsewhere, shares in Lebanese real-estate company Solidere closed slightly higher as they traded for the first time since the deadly blast in Beirut’s port that killed more than 150 people.

Here are some key events coming up:

  • Earnings include SoftBank, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Carlsberg, Tencent and JD.com.
  • New Zealand’s policy decision is due on Wednesday.
  • China releases a slew of data for July on Friday, including industrial production and retail sales.
  • U.S. retail sales are expected Friday, with a smaller increase forecast for July than in the prior two months.
Stocks Mixed; Oil Rises Most in Almost Three Weeks: Markets Wrap

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • The S&P 500 Index increased 0.3% to 3,360.59 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, hitting the highest in almost six months with its seventh consecutive advance.
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3% to 27,792.88, reaching the highest in more than five months on its seventh consecutive advance.
  • The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.4% to 10,968.36.
  • The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 0.1% to 563.83.

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1% to 1,180.45, the highest in a week.
  • The euro declined 0.4% to $1.1745, the weakest in almost two weeks.
  • The Japanese yen was little changed at 105.95 per dollar, the weakest in more than two weeks.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 0.58%, the highest in almost two weeks.
Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.53%.
Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 0.131%.

Commodities

  • West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% to $42.05 a barrel, the largest advance in almost three weeks.
  • Gold weakened 0.5% to $2,025.19 an ounce.
  • Copper rose 2.7% to $2.87 a pound, the largest rise in more than two months.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.