Stocks rise, treasuries steady on peak rates bet: Markets wrap

Stocks advanced on the back of a strong run on Wall Street, with Treasuries steady amid expectations for peaking interest rates.

Euro Stoxx futures rose 0.2%, extending the positive tone in Asia where a gauge of regional shares rose 0.5%. The moves followed S&P 500’s gains Wednesday, its eighth consecutive advance and best run since November 2021. US contracts were little changed.

Chinese shares were mixed, with those in Hong Kong down and key mainland benchmarks delivering mild gains, after a fresh price reading showed renewed deflationary pressures. The consumer price index in the world’s No. 2 economy fell in October, the first time since July, underscoring policymakers’ struggle with shoring up growth through domestic demand.

“The inflation data is likely to reinforce the weaker-than-expected PMI figures last week, which continue to point to low-for-longer growth conditions,” said Jun Rong Yeap, a market strategist at IG Asia Pte. “Today’s data seems to reinforce the view that more needs to be done.”

Treasuries were flat after 10-year yields fell below 4.5% Wednesday following a $40 billion auction — despite mixed metrics, which included a slightly higher-than-anticipated rate of 4.519%, signaling weaker-than-expected demand. The 30-year yield hit the lowest in over a month.

The apparent calm was helped along by swaps traders pricing in almost no chance of an interest-rate increase in December, and no further hikes next year. Those forecasts come ahead of comments from central bankers.

All eyes are on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech later Thursday after he refrained from commenting on the outlook for monetary policy or the economy in remarks delivered Wednesday.

“His comments are anticipated to shape the narrative for the year’s final FOMC meeting next month,” Philip Wee, a strategist at DBS Bank, wrote in a note. Wee expects Powell to “emphasize the irreplaceable role of interest rate policy to achieve its dual mandate.”

Elsewhere, Australian and New Zealand bonds also climbed, while the dollar was steady against other major currencies. In commodities, Brent crude traded around $80 a barrel after slumping Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, edged higher to about $76, near its three-month low.

Bitcoin rose to an 18-month high as expectations of an approval for exchange traded funds to invest in the largest crypto token intensified. It gained as much as 3.6% to $36 856 on Thursday.

In Japan, SoftBank Group’s flagship Vision Fund reported another loss as valuations on some of its bets declined, even as the investor chases new deals in AI. Meantime, Sony Group raised its full-year outlook for sales and profit after its media divisions outperformed.

The Philippine economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, thanks to a boost from state spending that’s put the nation back on track to post Southeast Asia’s quickest expansion this year.

Key events this week:

• BOE chief economist Huw Pill speaks on the economy, Thursday
• US initial jobless claims, Thursday
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell participates in panel on monetary policy challenges, Thursday
• Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and his Richmond counterpart Tom Barkin speak, Thursday
• ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in fireside chat, Friday
• US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
• Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and her Atlanta counterpart Raphael Bostic speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 3:45 p.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%
• Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.1%
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2%
• The Shanghai Composite was little changed
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.1%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.0708
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 150.90 per dollar
• The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2913 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 3.3% to $36 780
• Ether rose 2.2% to $1 928.1

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.49%
• Australia’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 4.53%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $75.68 a barrel
• Spot gold was little changed

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