Market Wrap

U.S. Stocks Retreat; Oil Drop Takes WTI Below $10. Oil tumbles to weakest level since December 1998. Treasury yields slip, dollar advances with precious metals

By Ekemini Last updated Apr 28, 2020

U.S. stocks pulled back from a six-week high, though major indexes pared losses as Amazon and Netflix led gains in big technology shares. Oil plunged in New York and the dollar gained.

The S&P 500 cut a drop of nearly 2% by three-quarters before steadying in afternoon trading. The Nasdaq indexes swung between gains and losses, with chipmakers joining in on gains among the bigger names. Chevron and Exxon weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as West Texas oil futures expiring Tuesday plunged, primarily because the May contract end forces physical receipt at a time when storage capacity is low. June prices fell below $23 a barrel, more than double the May one.

“It’s going to take some time for us to come back and there’s no guarantee we’ll come back without a resurgence,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust, in Santa Ana, California, which is managing $1.8 billion.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index edged higher. Shares retreated across much of Asia, though the benchmark in Shanghai rose. European bonds dropped as Treasuries advanced.

Investors start the week weighing both the oil crash and signs that Congress is close to a fresh spending package. The pace of earnings season is about to pick up, with almost one-fifth of S&P 500 companies reporting this week. Coca-Cola Co. and Netflix Inc. are among companies due to report in the coming days.

Governments and policy makers are continuing attempts to limit the economic damage of the pandemic. U.S. lawmakers are moving closer to a deal to top up funds for small businesses, China pledged more stimulus as banks lowered borrowing costs and European officials are discussing creating a bad bank for the region, according to the Financial Times.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index fell 0.5% as of 12:17 p.m. New York time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.9%

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2%

The MSCI All-Country World Index declined 0.4%

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.1% to 107.65 per dollar.

The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0883.

The British pound decreased 0.3%.

Bonds

The yield on two-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 0.20%, the lowest in more than eight years.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased two basis points to 0.62%, the lowest in more than two weeks.

Britain’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.323%.

Germany’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to -0.45%.

Commodities

Gold strengthened 0.5% to $1,690.43 an ounce.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 41% to $10.78 a barrel, its seventh consecutive decline and the biggest fall on record.

— Bloomberg

Market Wrap