Stocks Mixed Amid Variant Fears; Dollar Climbs: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks were mixed and U.S. futures fluctuated on Tuesday as concerns over a highly infectious Covid-19 strain spurred caution among investors. The dollar strengthened.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index traded higher, though new limits on travel from Britain prompted by the Delta variant of the virus weighed on cruise operators and airlines. An MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares declined for the first time in six days as countries in the region struggled to contain the highly transmissible strain.

S&P 500 futures were little changed, while contracts on the Nasdaq 100 slipped. Morgan Stanley shares gained more than 3% in pre-market trading after the U.S. bank said it will double its quarterly dividend. Treasuries dipped, and gold headed for the biggest monthly drop in more than four years.

Global stocks are poised to close out their fifth quarterly advance amid a worldwide vaccine rollout that’s powered an economic recovery and sparked concerns about increasing prices and the withdrawal of stimulus measures. The recovery also drove the reflation trade as more economies reopened, though that is being hampered as some countries, especially in Asia, are falling behind in their vaccine strategies.

“The Delta variant has also emerged in our client conversations as a potential threat to reflation/inflation,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists led by Marko Kolanovic said. “The economic consequences are likely to be limited given progress on vaccinations across developed market economies. It could, however, pose some risk of a delay in the recovery in countries where vaccination rates remain lower.”

Read: Asean Equities May Have Priced In Virus Setback: Taking Stock

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Here are some events to watch in the markets this week:

• OECD meets in Paris to finalize a proposal to overhaul global minimum corporate taxation Wednesday
• China’s President Xi Jinping will deliver a speech as the nation marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party Thursday
• OPEC+ ministerial meeting Thursday
• ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks Friday
• The U.S. jobs report is due Friday

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed as of 8:25 a.m. New York time
• Futures on the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6%
• The MSCI World index fell 0.1%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
• The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1885
• The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3825
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 110.68 per dollar

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.50%
• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to -0.17%
• Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.74%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $73.16 a barrel
• Gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,773.70 an ounce

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