Stocks Rise With Weak Data Fueling Aid-Deal Bets: Markets Wrap

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Dec 17 2020, 3:17 AMDec 17 2020, 9:59 PMDecember 17 2020, 3:17 AMDecember 17 2020, 9:59 PM

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose to records after data showing a further slowdown in the labor market stoked bets Congressional leaders will clinch a deal on federal spending.

The S&P 500 climbed for a third day as lawmakers wrangled over the details of nearly $900 billion in coronavirus aid. The dollar extended its slump after jobless claims rose to 885,000 versus an estimate of 818,000. Treasuries edged higher.

In Europe, cyclical shares such as miners and retailers rose on news that the rollout of a Covid vaccine would begin this month. The pound climbed and the euro rose to the highest since April 2018 as officials cautiously predicted a Brexit deal within days.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin breached $23,000 for the first time. Oil held gains in the wake of a surprise decline in U.S. crude inventories. Stocks across Asia saw modest advances.

With the clock ticking to renew pandemic aid, leaders in Washington are under pressure to resolve their differences after months of deadlock amid signs of a faltering economic recovery. Their peers in Europe cleared the bloc’s 1.8 trillion-euro ($2.2 trillion) stimulus package on Wednesday.

“If the session ahead is another in which the market contemplates U.S. fiscal stimulus, without much material Brexit news, we may well see more of the cyclical trade,” according to Mizuho International’s multi-asset strategy team led by Peter Chatwell.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron’s office said he’d tested positive for the coronavirus. The French president, 42, will self-isolate during seven days, while continuing to work, his office said. The number of virus deaths reached another daily record in the U.S., while the first known allergic reaction to the Pfizer Inc. vaccine was reported in Alaska as some snarls began to emerge in the effort to send the shots across the country.

Here are some key events coming up:

Policy decisions from central banks in Japan and Russia are due Friday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.4% to 3,717 as of 11:28 a.m. New York time, the highest on record.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4% to 30,288.75, the highest on record.

The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.6% to 12,737.21, the highest on record.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4% to 1,120.27, the lowest in almost three years.

The euro gained 0.4% to $1.2251, the strongest in almost three years on the largest gain in a week.

The Japanese yen appreciated 0.5% to 102.95 per dollar, the strongest in more than nine months on the biggest climb in two weeks.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 0.89%, the lowest in more than two weeks on the largest fall in a week.

Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.59%.

Britain’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to 0.246%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.9% to $48.25 a barrel, the highest in almost 10 months.

Gold strengthened 1.4% to $1,891.43 an ounce, the highest in almost six weeks.