U.S. stocks traded mostly higher Thursday morning, led by technology shares, which took the market south in the previous session after red-hot inflation data sent Treasury yields soaring.
Signs that troubled China real estate group Evergrande has again avoided a default also were credited for improving sentiment on Wall Street.
How are stock-index futures trading?
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 240 points, or 0.7%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.7%.
What’s driving the market?
Stocks looked set stage a modest recovery on Thursday after Wednesday’s tumble was sparked by October consumer prices that surged 0.9%, well above forecast, and annual inflation climbed 6.2%, a more-than-three-decade high. The data ignited fears the Federal Reserve may have to act faster and more aggressively to rein in inflation, with investors fleeing into gold, the dollar and cryptocurrencies.
Hardest hit was the Nasdaq Composite, which saw its worst session since Oct. 4—as its technology and growth-geared stocks are viewed as more sensitive to higher interest rates. Investors were also dealing with a poorly received 30-year government bond auction.
Bond markets are closed for the Veterans Day holiday, but Wednesday saw the 10-year BX:TMUBMUSD10Y and 30-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD30Y yields surge. Gold prices continued to push higher, after the biggest gains since mid-June on Thursday, while the dollar also rose.
The rise in yields marked a bounce from a sharp two-week decline that wasn’t based on fundaments and was, therefore, unlikely to last, said Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, in a note.
“During that period, tech rallied and led markets higher, and we’re seeing both trades now unwind. And given tech’s large weighting, that will be a headwind on the S&P 500,” he said.
“But unless the Fed starts strongly hinting at an accelerated taper or a much- sooner-than-expected rate hike, we do not see yesterday’s hot CPI or rise in yields as a reason to get more defensive,” he said, arguing it was instead reminder of the dominant trends in the market: above-normal inflation and rising yields.
A sharp fall for shares of Walt Disney Co. DIS was seen holding back the Dow. Shares of the entertainment conglomerate were down 7.6% after it disappointed on theme park revenue and subscriber numbers for its Disney+ streaming service.
One lift for sentiment appeared to come from China’s property sector. “Chinese equities are up 2% today on the news that the battled real-estate developer Evergrande HK:3333 managed to pay overdue interest on three bonds worth $148 million,” said Saxo Bank’s chief investment officer, Steen Jakobsen, who noted that was also aiding sentiment for U.S. equity futures.
A softer stance from officials there on the sector also helped rally those stocks, said Marios Hadjikyriacos, senior investment analyst at XM, in a note to clients. “Beijing is apparently prepared to relax the rules around how much leverage property developers can take on, allowing distressed companies some breathing room,” he said.