S&P 500 Futures Little Changed; Gold, Russia Stocks Fall
New York (Apr 21) Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after the gauge capped its best week since July, while gold and wheat fell. Russian stocks declined after a deadly clash in Ukraine, while the yen weakened as Japan’s trade deficit widened more than forecast.
S&P500 futures advanced 0.1 percent at 7 a.m. in New York after the index jumped 2.7 percent in the four trading days of last week. Treasuries were little changed, with the 10-year yield at 2.72 percent. Gold slid to a two-week low and wheat dropped 1.8 percent. Russia’s Micex Index lost 0.6 percent. Japan’s currency declined against all of its 16 major peers.
Stocks advanced last week in the U.S. after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated the bank’s commitment to achieving its goals for employment and inflation and earnings from General Electric Co. and Morgan Stanley beat estimates. Halliburton Co. and Netflix Inc. are among companies reporting results today and the Conference Board releases its gauge of leading indicators. Ukraine warned that Russia may use the fatal shootout in the country’s east as a pretext for invasion as a diplomatic accord reached last week showed little sign of taking hold.
“I suspect most companies are going to raise guidance for the upcoming quarters thanks to the pumped up demand and the spring thrall,” said Patrick Spencer, who helps oversee more than $100 billion as head of equity sales at Robert W. Baird & Co. in London. “The economy remains in a sweet spot. I’m very optimistic for this year.”
The value of global equities climbed to $62.9 trillion last week, approaching the record $63.2 trillion reached April 2. Markets in the U.K., Germany, Hong Kong and Australia are closed today. The U.S. Treasury market is also closed during London trading hours.
Economic Outlook
The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months probably climbed 0.7 percent last month after rising 0.5 percent in February, according to the median of 37 estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
About 71 percent of the 82 companies in the S&P 500 that have announced results this season have beaten analysts’ profit estimates, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Russian stocks fell after climbing 2 percent on April 18. The ruble slipped 0.2 percent against the dollar.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry blamed the Ukrainian nationalist group Pravyi Sektor for the violence which left at least three people dead over the weekend, an allegation that Pravyi Sektor denied in a statement. Viktoria Syumar, first deputy head of the National Security and Defense Council in Kiev, said on her Facebook page that Russia’s accusation and statements show it’s preparing to invade Ukraine.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after the gauge capped its best week since July, while gold and wheat fell. Russian stocks declined after a deadly clash in Ukraine, while the yen weakened as Japan’s trade deficit widened more than forecast.
S&P 500 futures advanced 0.1 percent at 7 a.m. in New York after the index jumped 2.7 percent in the four trading days of last week. Treasuries were little changed, with the 10-year yield at 2.72 percent. Gold slid to a two-week low and wheat dropped 1.8 percent. Russia’s Micex Index lost 0.6 percent. Japan’s currency declined against all of its 16 major peers.
Stocks advanced last week in the U.S. after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated the bank’s commitment to achieving its goals for employment and inflation and earnings from General Electric Co. and Morgan Stanley beat estimates. Halliburton Co. and Netflix Inc. are among companies reporting results today and the Conference Board releases its gauge of leading indicators. Ukraine warned that Russia may use the fatal shootout in the country’s east as a pretext for invasion as a diplomatic accord reached last week showed little sign of taking hold.
“I suspect most companies are going to raise guidance for the upcoming quarters thanks to the pumped up demand and the spring thrall,” said Patrick Spencer, who helps oversee more than $100 billion as head of equity sales at Robert W. Baird & Co. in London. “The economy remains in a sweet spot. I’m very optimistic for this year.”
The value of global equities climbed to $62.9 trillion last week, approaching the record $63.2 trillion reached April 2. Markets in the U.K., Germany, Hong Kong and Australia are closed today. The U.S. Treasury market is also closed during London trading hours.
Economic Outlook
The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months probably climbed 0.7 percent last month after rising 0.5 percent in February, according to the median of 37 estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
About 71 percent of the 82 companies in the S&P 500 that have announced results this season have beaten analysts’ profit estimates, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Russian stocks fell after climbing 2 percent on April 18. The ruble slipped 0.2 percent against the dollar.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry blamed the Ukrainian nationalist group Pravyi Sektor for the violence which left at least three people dead over the weekend, an allegation that Pravyi Sektor denied in a statement. Viktoria Syumar, first deputy head of the National Security and Defense Council in Kiev, said on her Facebook page that Russia’s accusation and statements show it’s preparing to invade Ukraine.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after the gauge capped its best week since July, while gold and wheat fell. Russian stocks declined after a deadly clash in Ukraine, while the yen weakened as Japan’s trade deficit widened more than forecast.
S&P 500 futures advanced 0.1 percent at 7 a.m. in New York after the index jumped 2.7 percent in the four trading days of last week. Treasuries were little changed, with the 10-year yield at 2.72 percent. Gold slid to a two-week low and wheat dropped 1.8 percent. Russia’s Micex Index lost 0.6 percent. Japan’s currency declined against all of its 16 major peers.
Stocks advanced last week in the U.S. after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated the bank’s commitment to achieving its goals for employment and inflation and earnings from General Electric Co. and Morgan Stanley beat estimates. Halliburton Co. and Netflix Inc. are among companies reporting results today and the Conference Board releases its gauge of leading indicators. Ukraine warned that Russia may use the fatal shootout in the country’s east as a pretext for invasion as a diplomatic accord reached last week showed little sign of taking hold.
“I suspect most companies are going to raise guidance for the upcoming quarters thanks to the pumped up demand and the spring thrall,” said Patrick Spencer, who helps oversee more than $100 billion as head of equity sales at Robert W. Baird & Co. in London. “The economy remains in a sweet spot. I’m very optimistic for this year.”
The value of global equities climbed to $62.9 trillion last week, approaching the record $63.2 trillion reached April 2. Markets in the U.K., Germany, Hong Kong and Australia are closed today. The U.S. Treasury market is also closed during London trading hours.
Economic Outlook
The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months probably climbed 0.7 percent last month after rising 0.5 percent in February, according to the median of 37 estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
About 71 percent of the 82 companies in the S&P 500 that have announced results this season have beaten analysts’ profit estimates, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Russian stocks fell after climbing 2 percent on April 18. The ruble slipped 0.2 percent against the dollar.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry blamed the Ukrainian nationalist group Pravyi Sektor for the violence which left at least three people dead over the weekend, an allegation that Pravyi Sektor denied in a statement. Viktoria Syumar, first deputy head of the National Security and Defense Council in Kiev, said on her Facebook page that Russia’s accusation and statements show it’s preparing to invade Ukraine.
