Stocks Extend Weekly Gain After Spending, PCE Data: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks climbed after data showing unexpected stagnation in personal spending overshadowed concern over higher inflation. The dollar fell, while Treasuries were little changed.

The S&P 500 was on track for its best week since April, while the Nasdaq 100 headed toward its sixth straight weekly advance. Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. soared after getting regulatory approval to fly customers into space. Nike Inc. jumped on an upbeat forecast, while FedEx Corp. sank amid a disappointing outlook.

Equities rallied this week after data showing the economy is pushing ahead brought a sense of calm to markets that were recently whipsawed by the Federal Reserve’s hawkish pivot. Purchases of goods and services were unchanged in May, while the personal consumption expenditures price gauge -- which the Fed officially uses for its inflation target -- rose 0.4%.

“Sentiment is overall positive,” said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at ThinkMarkets. “Buying-the-dip is likely to remain the trade of choice in the equity markets, as despite rising inflationary pressures, central banks are still keen to keep their record stimulus measures in place for the time being.”

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These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 9:30 a.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%
• The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed
• The MSCI World index rose 0.3%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
• The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1967
• The British pound was little changed at $1.3915
• The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 110.50 per dollar

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 1.48%
• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to -0.17%
• Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.75%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4% to $73.56 a barrel
• Gold futures rose 0.7% to $1,789.40 an ounce

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