European equities slipped as U.S. futures fluctuated on Thursday as a global rally in equities showed signs of fluctuating after stimulus talks in Washington remained deadslot. The dollar fell before important data on unemployment were available.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rallied lower on declines in miners and insurers. Aegon NV tumbled after his win missed estimates and because it withdrew financial targets over uncertainty of the pandemic. Zurich Insurance Group AG fell after revenue took a big name affected by the coronavirus in the first half. Futures on the three major US equities indicators showed modest losses after the S&P 500 index closed within 0.2% of its full time.
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Shares in Asia were mostly higher. Gold reversed its progress and Treasury 10-year notes went to their first win in a week after yields peaked at the highest since early July.
Stock markets in much of the world are recovering most of their losses, triggered by the onset of the pandemic, although investors continue to bank on further fiscal stimulus. Federal Reserve speakers sound more urgent on the need to protect an impending recovery. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan called on officials to push harder for adhering to protective behavior and said expanding unemployment benefits is “critical” to growth.
Meanwhile, some hard-hitting U.S. states showed signs of improvement, with Texas and California reporting declining hospitalizations of the virus.
“The stock market, in the US and elsewhere, is taking comfort by the fact that economic data shows resistance to spikes in virus infections,” said Kit Juckes, a strategist at Socitat Generale in London.
Elsewhere, oil rose after rising earlier on signs of improving demand. Shares in Japan saw the bulk of gains during the Asian session as the MSCI gauge for the region recovered all of its 2020 loss. The shares in Hong Kong did, and Australian shares underperformed because earnings at some companies were disappointing.
Here are some important events to come:
- Initial and ongoing unemployment claims are due later Thursday in the US
- China will release a lot of data on Friday, July, including industrial production and retail sales.
These are the main movements in markets:
Shares
- Futures on the S&P 500 index fell 0.1% from 9:23 a.m. time in London.
- The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.4%.
- Germany’s DAX index fell 0.3%.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.5%.
Currency
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2%.
- The euro advanced 0.4% to $ 1.1828.
- The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 106.73 per dollar.
- The British pound jumped 0.3% to $ 1.3078.
Bonds
- Yields on 10-year Treasuries dropped two basis points to 0.66%.
- Germany’s 10-year yield fell by one basis point to -0.46%.
- Britain’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to 0.217%.
Commodities
- West Texas inter-intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $ 42.56 a barrel.
- Gold strengthened 0.7% to $ 1,928.80 an ounce.
– With the help of Vildana Hajric, Sophie Caronello, and Adam Haigh
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