U.S. Stocks Slip as Treasuries Rise With Dollar: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks edged lower after closing at all-time highs as a more sober mood settled on markets Friday amid fresh U.S.-China tensions and little progress on a federal spending deal in Washington. The dollar rose for the first day in five.

The S&P 500 halted a three-day advance in trading that is likely to be more volatile than usual with options and futures on indexes and equities set to expire. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 0.92%. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index fluctuated. The pound and euro dropped as both sides in Brexit talks warned that progress had hit another snag.

Congress continues to wrangle over a spending deal that would give people and businesses a lifeline to withstand the increasing economic toll caused by the pandemic. In a sign of renewed frictions between Washington and Beijing, the U.S. Commerce Department announced it’s blacklisting Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. and more than 60 other Chinese companies “to protect U.S. national security.”

The stimulus package “ought to be a sufficient bridge,” Steven Wieting, global investment strategist at Citigroup Private Bank, said on Bloomberg TV. “That along with at this stage a preparedness for this Covid emergency and the fact that vaccines are ahead by mid-year, would certainly be sufficient to get us through this period of weakness.”

Elsewhere, copper topped $8,000 a ton for the first time in more than seven years on rising demand and supply bottlenecks.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 Index fell 0.3% at 9:51 a.m. in New York.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dipped 0.1%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 0.4%.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.3%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%.
• The euro dipped 0.1% to $1.2253.
• The British pound decreased 0.6% to $1.3506.
• The onshore yuan weakened 0.1% to 6.54 per dollar.
• The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 103.29 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 0.92%.
• The yield on two-year Treasuries declined less than one basis point to 0.12%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined less than one basis point to -0.57%.
• Japan’s 10-year yield decreased less than one basis point to 0.01%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield sank five basis points to 0.24%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.2% to $48.45 a barrel.
• Brent crude dipped 0.1% to $51.46 a barrel.
• Gold strengthened 0.1% to $1,886.61 an ounce.

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