U.S. Stocks Rebound to Best Weekly Gain Since 2013: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks held onto gains to cap their best week in five years while Treasuries climbed and the dollar broke a five-day losing streak.

The S&P 500 was slightly higher at the close after a late-day slump as investors assessed the implications of new indictments related to Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The gauge ended 4.3 percent higher for the week ahead of a holiday weekend. The 10-year Treasury yield pulled back below 2.9 percent and the dollar rose from a three-year low.

The recovery in American equities has come quickly after the first correction in U.S. stocks in two years, and the S&P 500 is now down less than 5 percent from an all-time high reached Jan. 26. The Russia news distracted traders otherwise focused on the outlook for the credit markets and interest rates as economic growth accelerates and fans inflation.

“As far as corrections go, while we’re not out of the woods yet, it’s starting to feel like the best possible one you can hope for: Short and sweet,” said Craig Birk, an executive vice president of portfolio management at Personal Capital. “All the basic economic fundamentals and earnings results still seem very solid.”

Elsewhere, sterling slipped after U.K. retail sales missed estimates and gilts advanced. Crude oil reversed losses to trade near a one-week high. Bitcoin rose above $10,000.

Terminal users can read more in our markets blog.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 percent at the close of trading in New York.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 1.1 percent.
• The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.8 percent.
• Japan’s Topix index rose 1.1 percent.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.1 percent.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.5 percent, the first advance in more than a week.
• The euro fell 0.8 percent to $1.2406.
• The British pound sank 0.6 percent to $1.4013, the first retreat in a week.
• The Japanese yen fell 0.2 percent to 106.35 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell four basis points to 2.87 percent.
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 0.7 percent.
• Britain’s 10-year yield sank seven basis points to 1.58 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5 percent to $61.62 a barrel.
• Gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,348.71 an ounce.

--With assistance from Adam Haigh Robert Brand and Jeremy Herron

To contact the reporter on this story: Kailey Leinz in New York at kleinz1@bloomberg.net.

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

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