(Bloomberg) — European stock futures climb, following Asian stocks after a rally in large US tech shares drove Wall Street to another record high.
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Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose as much as 0.7% after the S&P 500 advanced to an all-time high for the 30th time this year, defying concern about narrow breadth that may make the market more vulnerable to surprises. The dollar strengthened against most of its Group of 10 peers.
The Australian dollar extended earlier gains after Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock said in a press conference that the central bank discussed the case for a rate hike at its policy meeting. Policymakers kept their benchmark interest rate at a 12-year high of 4.35% for a fifth straight gathering.
“The RBA’s hawkish posturing has been maintained, but that is no surprise to markets,” said Charu Chanana, head of foreign-exchange strategy at Saxo Markets. “The Aussie’s path is likely to continue to focus on external factors, and is looking bearish in the near-term given the resurgent US dollar and slowing momentum in China and commodities.”
Asia chip stocks were among the biggest contributors to gains in the MSCI Asia Pacific index. Shares of Tesla China suppliers advanced after news the electric-car maker had gained approval to test its advanced driver-assistance system on some Shanghai streets. In South Korea, shares of SK Hynix Inc. rose to a 24-year high as an analyst said the chipmaker may see upward revisions to its future earnings consensus.
Hong Kong will end its decades-long practice of shutting its markets during typhoons and major storms starting on Sept. 23. The decision to allow trading during typhoons and major storms bodes well for liquidity and may enhance the market’s competitiveness over time, analysts say.
Ahead of Wednesday’s holiday in the US, traders geared up for retail-sales data and a slew of Federal Reserve speakers. Treasuries ticked higher in Asia after falling Monday amid a flurry of high-grade corporate bond sales that exceeded $21 billion.
The US benchmark index topped 5,470 Monday, with Tesla Inc. and Apple Inc. leading gains in megacaps. The Nasdaq 100 came closer to the 20,000 mark as Micron Technology Inc. climbed to a record after some firms raised their targets.
“We believe the S&P 500 can reach 6,000 by year-end as the combination of better earnings and one or two rate cuts is like a turbo booster for stock prices,” said James Demmert at Main Street Research. “The Fed may not need to cut rates this year but if they do, it will be even more bullish for equities, particularly tech.”
Optimism over a resilient economy, improving corporate earnings and the potential start of rate cuts have pushed US equities up about 15% this year. Fed Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said he sees one rate cut as appropriate for this year based on his current forecast.
Investors will keep a close watch on the implications of Beijing’s latest move in its trade tensions with Brussels, after China launched an anti-dumping probe on pork imports from the European Union. That comes as the bloc looks at Chinese subsidies across a range of industries and will impose tariffs on electric car imports from July.
In commodities, oil held the biggest advance in a week as risk-on sentiment in wider markets overshadowed a mixed outlook for crude. Copper rose from its lowest close since mid-April. Gold was little changed.
Key events this week:
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Eurozone CPI, Tuesday
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US retail sales, business inventories, industrial production, Tuesday
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Fed’s Thomas Barkin, Lorie Logan, Adriana Kugler, Alberto Musalem, Austan Goolsbee speak, Tuesday
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UK CPI, Wednesday
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US Juneteenth holiday, Wednesday
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China loan prime rates, Thursday
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Eurozone consumer confidence, Thursday
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UK BOE rate decision, Thursday
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US housing starts, initial jobless claims, Thursday
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Eurozone S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, S&P Global Services PMI, Friday
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US existing home sales, Conf. Board leading index, Friday
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Fed’s Thomas Barkin speaks, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
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S&P 500 futures were unchanged as of 2:41 p.m. Tokyo time
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Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed
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Japan’s Topix rose 0.4%
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Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%
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Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.1%
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The Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%
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Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.5%
Currencies
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The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
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The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0722
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The Japanese yen was little changed at 157.79 per dollar
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The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2729 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
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Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $65,820.66
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Ether fell 1.5% to $3,460.07
Bonds
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The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.27%
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Japan’s 10-year yield advanced 1.5 basis points to 0.940%
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Australia’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.15%
Commodities
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West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1% to $80.23 a barrel
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Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,323.42 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Winnie Hsu, Tassia Sipahutar and Swati Pandey.
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