Stocks Stall Near Global Record; Treasuries Dip: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- A rally in global stocks stalled within a whisker of February’s all-time high as investors mulled the pace of the recent gains and expectations for loose monetary policy. Treasuries edged lower.

Shares undperformed in Shanghai and Australia, with more muted moves and low volumes elsewhere across Asia. European futures ticked up and S&P 500 contracts were steady after a fresh U.S. record on Tuesday, helped by gains in Facebook Inc. Crude oil traded near the highest in five months as Hurricane Laura bore down on key refining facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The dollar edged up and gold retreated.

As global economies reopen, investors remain wary about fresh outbreaks of the virus and are focused on the progress of a vaccine. A summer infection spike in U.S. Sun Belt states showed more signs of easing, while cases continued to grow in Spain and Germany.

Traders are also awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Thursday about the central bank’s monetary policy framework review, which has focused on a new inflation strategy. U.S. consumer confidence dropped in August to the lowest since 2014 as Americans grapple with high unemployment and uncertainty about future federal stimulus.

“The Fed has all but guaranteed that rates are going nowhere for at least two years,” Eleanor Creagh, a market strategist at Saxo Bank, said on Bloomberg TV. “Equity remains the place for investors to escape the secular stagnation that we’re seeing within the real economy that this zero-yield world produces.”

Elsewhere, Australian bonds fell as the country sold a record A$21 billion ($15.1 billion) in new 11-year notes. In New Zealand, equities were disrupted for a second day after a cyber attack halted activity Tuesday.

Here are some key events coming up:

• The U.S. Republican National Convention runs this week.
• The Bank of Korea sets monetary policy and will hold a briefing on Thursday.
• Fed Chair Powell speaks at an event on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 7 a.m. in London. The gauge gained 0.4% on Tuesday.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.1%.
• Shanghai Composite dropped 1.4%.
• Japan’s Topix index slipped 0.1%.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.8%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.1%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%.
• The yen was at little changed at 106.39 per dollar.
• The offshore yuan traded little changed at 6.8998 per dollar.
• The euro bought $1.1812, down 0.2%.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose to 0.71%.
• Australia’s 10-year yield rose more than five basis points to 0.94%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude slid 0.1% to $43.30 a barrel.
• Gold slid 0.5% to $1,918.94 an ounce

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