US Stocks Pressured As Ukraine Missiles Strike Russia: Markets Wrap
The S&P 500 was little changed and Nasdaq 100 edged down around 0.2% as Wall Street benchmarks tried to shrug off Ukraine’s latest missile strikes on Russia.
US stocks struggled as traders digested the latest Ukraine-Russia tensions while bonds were under pressure.
The S&P 500 was little changed and Nasdaq 100 edged down around 0.2% as Wall Street benchmarks tried to shrug off Ukraine’s latest missile strikes on Russia. Bloomberg’s dollar gauge advanced 0.5%, rebounding from a three-day drop. The 10-year US Treasury yield climbed around two basis points after falling yesterday as investors snapped up haven assets.
Traders await Nvidia Corp.’s quarterly results, expected later Wednesday, to gauge if the world’s most valuable company can continue its remarkable run fueled by spending on artificial intelligence hardware, with the chipmaker edging higher in premarket trading after rising 4.9% in the previous session. Trading in options signals the results will be the most important catalyst left this year — more than the Federal Reserve’s December meeting, according to Barclays Plc strategists.
“The health of the market being driven by results of individual companies in itself points to a certain element of fragility,” said Subitha Subramaniam, chief economist at Sarasin & Partners. “Is it sufficient that they beat, is it sufficient that they beat by a big margin? We are hanging on every statement of the CEO.”
Shares of Target Corp. fell around 19% after the retailer trimmed its full-year outlook due to flat sales and an inventory buildup. Company executives said US consumers spent less on nonessential items such as clothes and home products — a weaker third-quarter picture than the one provided by Walmart Inc. on Tuesday.
Traders are also monitoring Donald Trump’s administration picks, especially his selection for the Treasury secretary role. Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and Apollo Global Management’s Marc Rowan are in contention, according to people familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, Trump tapped Cantor Fitzgerald LP Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department, a key role to facilitate his tariff and trade policies.
“As I look at the Treasury secretary race, I want to see exactly who is in that role because the tax policies, the debt limit all come back,” Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James, told Bloomberg Television. “We need to see exactly how that person has a relationship with the Federal Reserve, because monetary policy will quickly figure into all of this.”.
Bitcoin set another all-time high, supported by a series of developments highlighting the deepening embrace of the digital-asset industry in the US under crypto cheerleader Trump.
Key events this week:
Nvidia earnings, Wednesday
Fed’s Lisa Cook and Michelle Bowman speak, Wednesday
Eurozone consumer confidence, Thursday
US existing home sales, initial jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed factory index, Thursday
Eurozone HCOB Manufacturing & Services PMI, Friday
US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, S&P Global Manufacturing & Services PMI, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 was little changed as of 9:34 a.m. New York time
The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1%
The MSCI World Index fell 0.1%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.4%
The euro fell 0.5% to $1.0539
The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.2654
The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 155.67 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 2.6% to $94,702.11
Ether rose 1% to $3,125.97
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.42%
Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.36%
Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.48%
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $70.01 a barrel
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,640.73 an ounce
