U.S. Futures Climb With Europe Stocks; Dollar Dips: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. equity futures edged higher with European stocks as investors assessed the impact of President Donald Trump’s demand for changes to pandemic relief legislation.

Contracts on the S&P 500 reversed a decline of as much as 0.7% after Trump attacked the coronavirus relief bill. The president is demanding that lawmakers increase the stimulus checks due to go out to most Americans to $2,000 from $600 in the same week that Congress passed the $900 billion bipartisan package. The dollar slipped.

European stocks rose as trade and transport links between the U.K. and its neighbors reopened and Brexit negotiators worked to forge an 11th-hour deal. Travel firms and automakers led gains, with Daimler rising as much as 3.1% on a report the German carmaker is considering an initial public offering of its truck unit.

The pound advanced as the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator said the two sides were ready to make “a final push” before the Dec. 31 deadline.

The president’s comments have the potential to cast fresh jitters on markets as investors weigh how long it will take for the spending package to become law and for the money to be distributed to Americans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seized on Trump’s call for larger individual stimulus checks and said the House would try to pass this additional measure during a pro forma session on Thursday.

“For now, markets appear to be holding off pressing the sell button until the situation clarifies,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at Oanda.

Elsewhere, gold edged higher while crude oil reversed an earlier decline.

Here are some key events coming up:

• EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.
• U.S. jobless claims, durables, personal income data comes Wednesday.
• U.S. bond and stock trading and markets in other parts of the world will shut early on Thursday for the Christmas holidays. Most global markets are shut Friday.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.2% as of 7:00 a.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.3%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.7%.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.6%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%.
• The euro gained 0.2% to $1.219.
• The British pound jumped 0.4% to $1.342.
• The onshore yuan strengthened 0.1% to 6.538 per dollar.
• The Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 103.43 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 0.93%.
• The yield on two-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 0.12%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield increased less than one basis point to -0.59%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield increased two basis points to 0.2%.
• Japan’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to 0.012%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude increased 0.1% to $47.06 a barrel.
• Brent crude gained 0.2% to $50.17 a barrel.
• Gold strengthened 0.2% to $1,863.76 an ounce.

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