Sentiments stays weak for US stocks
DOW dips more than 1%
The US stocks mostly stayed weak in last session. The Nasdaq edged down 20.71 points (0.1%) to 16,286.45, the S&P 500 inched up 7 points (0.1%) to 5,282.70. The narrower Dow showed a more significant move to the downside, tumbling 527.16 points (1.3%) to 39,142.23. The steep drop by the Dow on the day largely reflected a nosedive by shares of United Health (UNH), with the healthcare giant plummeting by 22.4%. United Health tumbled to its lowest closing level in a year after the company reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings and cut its full-year profit forecast.
The Labor Department released a report showing a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 12th. The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 215,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 224,000. A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed new residential construction in the U.S. pulled back by much more than expected in the month of March.
Despite the lack of direction shown by the broader markets, pharmaceutical stocks moved sharply higher, leading to a 3.8% spike by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index. Eli Lilly (LLY) helped lead the sector higher, soaring by 14.3% after reporting positive results from a phase-three trial of a pill to treat weight loss and diabetes. Crude oil prices continuously surged contributing to substantial strength among energy stocks, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index jumping by 3.9% and 2.7%, respectively. Transportation, telecom and housing stocks were considerably strong on the day while gold stocks moved lower along with the price of the precious metal.
Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 1.6%. Most European stocks moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index ended the day nearly unchanged, the German DAX Index fell by 0.5% and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6%.
In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after trending higher over the past few sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 5.4 bps to 4.33%.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
9 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Asia shares rise as tech rally lifts Wall Street, US jobs test looms large
Asia shares firmed on Monday as seemingly unquenchable demand for technology companies lifted S&P 500 futures to another all-time peak, while the dollar dipped on concerns US jobs data will show enough weakness to justify larger rate cuts. Investors were also keeping a wary eye on the progress of a huge US tax-cutting and spending bill slowly making its way through the Senate, with signs it may not make it by President Donald Trump's preferred July 4 deadline. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt, testing foreign appetite for US Treasuries. There was no doubting the demand for the US tech sector and megacap growth stocks including Nvidia, Alphabet and Amazon. Nasdaq futures rose another 0.3 per cent, while S&P 500 e-minis added 0.2 per cent. The bullish sentiment spilled over into Japan's Nikkei which rose 1.0 per cent, while South Korean stocks gained 0.5 per cent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan firmed 0.1 per cent. A holiday on Friday means US payrolls are a day early, with analysts forecasting a rise of 110,000 in June with the jobless rate ticking up to 4.3 per cent. The resilience of the labour market is a major reason the majority of Federal Reserve members say they can afford to wait on cutting rates until they can gauge the true impact of tariffs on inflation, so a weak report would stoke speculation of a rate cut in July rather than September. "While initial jobless claims retreated somewhat from their recent high, continuing claims jumped higher yet again," noted Michael Feroli, head of US economics at JPMorgan. "Consumers' assessment of labor market conditions also deteriorated in the latest confidence report." "Both of these developments suggest that the unemployment rate in June should tick up to 4.3 per cent, with a significant risk of reaching 4.4 per cent." The latter outcome would likely see futures push up the chance of a July easing from the current 18 per cent and price in more than the present 63 basis points of cuts for this year. DOLLAR DOLDRUMS Fed Chair Jerome Powell will have an opportunity to repeat his cautious outlook when he joins several other central bank chiefs at the European Central Bank forum in Sintra on Tuesday. The prospect of an eventual policy easing has helped Treasuries weather worries about the US budget deficit and the huge amount of borrowing it entails. Yields on 10-year Treasuries were steady at 3.27 per cent, having fallen 9 basis points last week. The dollar has not fared so well, in part due to concerns tariffs and chaotic policies from the White House will drag on economic growth and erode the country's claim to exceptionalism. The euro was near its highest since September 2021 at $1.1731, having climbed 1.7 per cent last week, while sterling stood near a similar peak at $1.3719. The dollar was down a fraction at 144.48 yen, after losing 1 per cent last week, while the dollar index dipped to 97.163. James Reilly, a senior markets economist at Capital Economics, noted the dollar had fallen by more at this stage in the year than in any previous year since the US moved to a free-floating exchange rate in 1973. "At this point, further weakness could become self-reinforcing as underhedged European/Asian portfolios chase the move," he added. "So, we suspect that this could be a pivotal period for the greenback - either it turns around here or there is another 5 per cent or so fall around the corner." In commodity markets, the general revival in risk sentiment has undermined gold, which slipped to $3,266 an ounce and further away from April's record top of $3,500. [GOL/] Oil prices continued to struggle on concerns about plans for increased output from OPEC+, which contributed to a 12 per cent slide last week. [O/R] Brent dropped a further 55 cents to $67.22 a barrel, while US crude eased 68 cents to $64.84 per barrel.
Economic Times
19 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Asian stocks, US futures rise as trade talks progress
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel Asian stocks rose along with equity-index futures as record-high US stocks and progress in trade negotiations boosted risk MSCI Asia-Pacific index advanced 0.3% at the open Monday. The Nikkei 225 index jumped by more than 1% after Japan's top negotiator extended his stay in the US for further trade talks ahead of a July 9 deadline. Contracts for the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%. A gauge of the dollar dipped 0.1% as Senate negotiations continued over President Donald Trump's $4.5 trillion tax-cut oil fell 1% as traders wound back risk premiums before the OPEC+ meeting. Treasuries slipped, with the yield on the 10-year rising about 1 basis point to 4.28%.On Friday, US stocks rose to a fresh all-time high for the first time since February, underscoring the conviction the economy is withstanding policy uncertainties. Trump in April put tariffs on dozens of trading partners on pause for three months, providing a boost for equities. A gauge of Asian stocks is set to climb more than 4% for a second month as investors look past tariff angst and recent tensions the Middle East.'The momentum and trends seen in risky markets portray an almost nirvana environment in which to operate,' Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group, wrote in a note. Rapid reduction of geopolitical risks and expectations about imminent trade deals are 'all adding tailwinds to risk markets.'India's trade team extended its stay in Washington to iron out differences as the two sides look to clinch a deal before the July 9 deadline, people familiar with the matter said. Trump also said he doesn't think he'll need to extend the market's resilience may be seen as complacent with traders 'eating up' the Trump administration's rhetoric, said Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at in Melbourne. Markets could trend higher should the aggregate tariff rate fall following the deadline, or face 'some reversal' if deals don't materialize, he US inflation and easing uncertainty in trade tensions have helped improve market sentiment this month. The S&P 500 index has gained 10% this quarter, its sixth advance in seven quarters. A gauge of the dollar has tumbled 6.3% this quarter, on pace for its biggest decline since December 2022.'The recent conflict in the Middle East is a reminder, both that new policy shocks can surface, but also that unless the worst outcomes materialize, they can create a 'wall of worry' for markets to climb,' Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists including Kamakshya Trivedi wrote in a negotiations over Trump's tax cut bill are continuing as Republicans seek to convince holdouts to support it for final passage, with a vote set to spill into Monday. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the measure would add nearly $3.3 trillion to US deficits over a will soon shift to Chinese manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs later Monday as traders assess the impact Trump's trade war on its economy.'Market participants will closely watch if new export orders in the manufacturing PMIs recover further after the US and China agreed on a trade truce in mid-May,' Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategists including Kristina Clifton wrote in a note to clients.
Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
Asian stocks, US futures rise as trade talks progress
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel Asian stocks rose along with equity-index futures as record-high US stocks and progress in trade negotiations boosted risk MSCI Asia-Pacific index advanced 0.3% at the open Monday. The Nikkei 225 index jumped by more than 1% after Japan's top negotiator extended his stay in the US for further trade talks ahead of a July 9 deadline. Contracts for the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.3%. A gauge of the dollar dipped 0.1% as Senate negotiations continued over President Donald Trump's $4.5 trillion tax-cut oil fell 1% as traders wound back risk premiums before the OPEC+ meeting. Treasuries slipped, with the yield on the 10-year rising about 1 basis point to 4.28%.On Friday, US stocks rose to a fresh all-time high for the first time since February, underscoring the conviction the economy is withstanding policy uncertainties. Trump in April put tariffs on dozens of trading partners on pause for three months, providing a boost for equities. A gauge of Asian stocks is set to climb more than 4% for a second month as investors look past tariff angst and recent tensions the Middle East.'The momentum and trends seen in risky markets portray an almost nirvana environment in which to operate,' Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group, wrote in a note. Rapid reduction of geopolitical risks and expectations about imminent trade deals are 'all adding tailwinds to risk markets.'India's trade team extended its stay in Washington to iron out differences as the two sides look to clinch a deal before the July 9 deadline, people familiar with the matter said. Trump also said he doesn't think he'll need to extend the market's resilience may be seen as complacent with traders 'eating up' the Trump administration's rhetoric, said Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at in Melbourne. Markets could trend higher should the aggregate tariff rate fall following the deadline, or face 'some reversal' if deals don't materialize, he US inflation and easing uncertainty in trade tensions have helped improve market sentiment this month. The S&P 500 index has gained 10% this quarter, its sixth advance in seven quarters. A gauge of the dollar has tumbled 6.3% this quarter, on pace for its biggest decline since December 2022.'The recent conflict in the Middle East is a reminder, both that new policy shocks can surface, but also that unless the worst outcomes materialize, they can create a 'wall of worry' for markets to climb,' Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists including Kamakshya Trivedi wrote in a negotiations over Trump's tax cut bill are continuing as Republicans seek to convince holdouts to support it for final passage, with a vote set to spill into Monday. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the measure would add nearly $3.3 trillion to US deficits over a will soon shift to Chinese manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs later Monday as traders assess the impact Trump's trade war on its economy.'Market participants will closely watch if new export orders in the manufacturing PMIs recover further after the US and China agreed on a trade truce in mid-May,' Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategists including Kristina Clifton wrote in a note to clients.
