FYI: U.S. stocks were poised to open slightly higher Thursday after European banks and other equities that benefit from a better growth outlook reacted well to Wednesday’s Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both set to open 0.2% higher, with banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo and Bank of America up by similar amounts in premarket trading.
Asian and European stock indexes were mixed in response. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.8% and South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.4%, but the Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.3% and the FTSE 100 in London was flat.
European banks saw gains, with France’s BNP Paribas up 3.5%, Deutsche Bank 2.7% higher and the U.K.’s Barclays up 1.5%.
The S&P 500 ended Wednesday down 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.6% lower.
The outlook for healthier economies, along with rate cuts appearing less likely, presented a balanced outlook for markets. Signs that better growth was winning out and encouraging risk taking were evident in government bond yields Thursday morning where yields were lifted as prices fell.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was 2.527% Thursday morning, up from 2.510% Wednesday. However, German 10-year bund yields slipped to 0.013% from 0.016%.
The U.S. dollar, which marginally strengthened late Wednesday, rose further Thursday morning, with the WSJ Dollar Index up 0.03%.
In commodities, Brent crude oil slipped 1% to $71.44 a barrel, and gold fell 1% to $1.272.30 per ounce.
Regards,
Ted
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-pause-on-fed-outlook-11556784081Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-01/asia-stocks-to-fall-on-fed-remarks-dollar-gains-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-square-stock-qualcomm-stock-market-rally/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/02/stock-market-traders-digest-fed-comments-earnings-and-jobless-data.htmlU.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-100-dips-as-miners-exporters-drag-metro-bank-tanks-idUKKCN1S80GVEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-dip-on-fed-growth-worries-banks-autos-advance-idUSKCN1S80IGAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mixed-after-fed-leaves-rates-steady-2019-05-01/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/02/us-bonds-investors-digest-latest-fed-meeting.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/02/forex-market-fed-inflation-outlook-dollar-index-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/02/oil-market-us-sanctions-on-iran-venezuela-crisis-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/02/gold-steady-near-one-week-low-as-fed-clouds-rate-cut-bets.htmlCuirrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx
