Global Stocks Pause After Last Week's Rally
08 Avril 2019 - 2:14PM
Dow Jones News
By Avantika Chilkoti
U.S. markets were set to open slightly lower Monday as investors
took stock of last week's rally, following progress in U.S.-China
trade talks and strong U.S. employment figures.
Futures pointed to small opening declines on Wall Street of 0.3%
for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 0.1% for the S&P
500.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.1% in morning trading.
And in Asia, the Shanghai Stock Exchange was down 0.1%, Hong Kong's
Hang Seng Index gained 0.5% and Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.2%.
The buoyant mood that propelled markets at the beginning of 2019
has faded in recent weeks as many investors question how long the
expansion in the U.S. economy can go on.
Still, global stocks rallied last week as President Trump met
Chinese officials in Washington, claiming progress in trade
negotiations, while data Friday showed that U.S. job growth
rebounded in March.
That rally could come under pressure as earnings season kicks
off in earnest this week with several companies, including Apple,
FedEx and Walgreens Boots Alliance, reducing profit forecasts for
the first quarter of the year.
Emiel van den Heiligenberg, head of asset allocation at Legal
& General Investment Management, sounded a note of optimism
about global growth, pointing to signs of reflation in China,
progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations and dovish comments from
the Federal Reserve.
"People worry too much," he said, saying he now forecasts
recession in the U.S. economy is as far out as 2021, whereas just
five months ago he had expected that downturn in mid-2020.
Investors will be watching closely when the Fed publishes
minutes of its March meeting Wednesday, providing further clues
about the central bank's expectations for growth and inflation,
amid many inflation and consumer sentiment reports also due this
week.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket
of 16 currencies, was down 0.1% Monday.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was nearly flat at 2.502% from
2.503% Friday. Yields move inversely to prices.
Elsewhere in commodities, global benchmark Brent crude oil was
down 0.5% at $70.70 a barrel.
Oil prices jumped this weekend as fighting broke out near
Tripoli, the Libyan capital, sending the oil-rich nation to the
brink of civil war. The U.S. military said it withdrew a small
contingent of American forces from the country, citing worsening
security.
In the U.K, investors were watching closely as Brussels was set
to decide on an extension to the Brexit deadline, perhaps setting a
date at the end of the year or even in 2020, while Prime Minister
Theresa May sought to cooperate with the oppositionLabour Party's
Jeremy Corbyn.
Erik Nielsen, chief economist at UniCredit Bank in London,
labeled the Brexit saga "miserable," warning of the risk that Mrs.
May might throw in the towel if talks with the opposition party
break down.
"The Conservative party will descend into one of the most
divisive leadership contests ever seen in the U.K.," he said in a
note.
The British pound was up 0.1% against the dollar and flat
against the euro Monday. The FTSE 100 index, which is dominated by
large international businesses, gained 0.1% and the FTSE 250 was
broadly flat.
Write to Avantika Chilkoti at Avantika.Chilkoti@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 08, 2019 07:59 ET (11:59 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Mar 2024 à Avr 2024
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Avr 2023 à Avr 2024