Equity Volatility Tumbles as Bonds Decline: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) —Faith in the global economy reasserted itself, with bonds declining and U.S. stocks rising to fresh records while a gauge of volatility in the equity market tumbled to the lowest level since 1993.
Asian stock-index futures signaled a mixed start to trading Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite Index and S&P 500 Index closed at the highest levels ever as gains in Apple Inc. pushed its market capitalization near to $800 billion. The VIX index sank 7.6 percent. Treasuries dropped, sending the 10-year yield up to 2.39 percent. The open of China’s stock market will be in focus with equities tumbling amid a crackdown on financial leverage.
Volatility is declining to multi-year lows in fixed-income and stock markets as labor market strength and earnings continue to buoy global growth. Investors will be parsing comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari later Tuesday for any clues on policy.
Macau casino stocks will be in focus after extending losses in New York trading. A leading Chinese bank pulled its ATMs from the world’s biggest gambling market as part of a corruption crackdown. Elsewhere, South Korean voters are going to the polls to elect their next president, while Australia’s Treasurer will deliver his budget Tuesday evening in Canberra at a time when the country’s top credit rating is said to be at risk.
Key events coming up this week:
Earnings continue to be released with Walt Disney Co., Mitsubishi Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Deutsche Telekom AG among those notable. Voting is underway in South Korea to elect a new president following the ouster of Park Geun-hye in a corruption scandal. Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison will deliver his budget in Canberra. Economists predict a A$28 billion ($20.7 billion) budget deficit in the year through June 2018, about A$700 million less than the government forecast in its December update.Here are the main moves in markets:
The yen was little changed at 113.28 per dollar as of 7:01 a.m. in Tokyo. Futures on the S&P 500 were flat after the underlying gauge rose less than one point to 2,399.38, a record Monday. It pushed 0.1 percent higher shortly after the open to a fresh intraday high of 2,401.36, before falling as much as 0.2 percent. Apple shares climbed 2.7 percent to a record high, taking this year’s advance to 32 percent. The euro traded at $1.0924. The pair fell 0.6 percent to $1.0931 Monday following the victory of Emmanuel Macron as France’s next president. The currency has been trading near the highest level since November. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose four basis points to 2.39 percent.
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