Stocks, bonds steady with jobs data awaited

Stocks and bonds steadied after a bruising two-day selloff to start 2024. Oil advanced as conflict in the Middle East added to supply concerns.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 added 0.4% as Shell Plc and BP Plc gained after crude jumped more than 4% in two sessions. Next Plc rallied after the British home and clothing retailer raised its profit forecast. U.S. equity futures also edged higher. The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 3.93%. 

Attention now turns to upcoming US jobs data on Friday as investors look for further clues on the timing of possible interest-rate cuts this year. On Wednesday, minutes from the Fed’s December meeting suggested rates could remain at restrictive levels “for some time.” 

“There was some sort of a ‘dry January’ syndrome across markets these two last sessions,” said Vincent Juvyns, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. “The prospects for equity markets remain positive.”

Geopolitics remained in focus as escalating tensions in the Middle East and supply disruptions in Libya drove oil prices up more than 1% on Wednesday. Iran said attacks that killed almost 100 people in the country were carried out to punish its stance against Israel.

In Europe, French month-on-month inflation ticked up less than economists forecast and investors will be watching a reading from Germany later Thursday. Euro-area figures are due Friday. Yields on French and German bonds were little changed.

Chinese stocks remained the biggest drag in Asia following a report that showed wages offered to Chinese workers in major cities declined by the most on record. 

Chinese government bond yields, meanwhile, fell to the lowest in more than three years, while the offshore yuan was steady. The People’s Bank of China weakened Wednesday’s currency fixing by the most in over six months, a sign policymakers may have shifted their focus from stabilizing the currency to monetary easing. 

Eurozone S&P Global Eurozone Services PMI, Thursday

• US initial jobless claims, ADP employment, Thursday
• Eurozone CPI, PPI, Friday
• US nonfarm payrolls/unemployment, factory orders, ISM services index, Friday
• Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin — an FOMC voter in 2024 — speaks, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4% as of 9:23 a.m. London time
• S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%
• Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.2%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
• The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0954
• The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 143.76 per dollar
• The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 7.1576 per dollar
• The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2695

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $43,009.52
• Ether fell 0.2% to $2,222.81

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.93%
• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 2.04%
• Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.65%

Commodities

• Brent crude rose 1.3% to $79.30 a barrel
• Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,047.32 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.