Stocks Climb as Earnings Boost Outlook; Bonds Slip: Markets Wrap

Bloomberg – Global stocks climbed on Tuesday as investors showed confidence that the equity rally will find fresh support in the deluge of corporate earnings due this week. The dollar edged up while Treasuries slipped.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced for a fifth day, driven higher by banks and retail shares, while S&P 500 futures pointed to a positive open as the earnings season kicks into high gear, with Bank of America Corp. and BlackRock Inc. results due Tuesday. In Asia, shares in China and Hong Kong outperformed markets in Japan and South Korea. Emerging-market stocks climbed, though the currencies weakened. The yen inched higher.

Investors are spending the holiday-shortened week assessing the chances that stocks will sustain their rally even as similar gains in investment-grade bonds have ebbed since late March. Optimism over earnings appears to be boosting bullish sentiment in equities, though volumes this week have been muted.

Central banks are also in the frame, with Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, who currently sees rates on hold until the fall of 2020, saying that the nation’s central bank may need to cut them if inflation falls.

Elsewhere, West Texas oil slipped on concerns over rising U.S. crude inventories. The Aussie dollar declined after minutes from Australia’s central bank showed that officials concluded there was no near-term need to adjust rates.

Here are some notable events coming up:

Earnings season rolls on this week, with reports due from: Bank of America, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, American Express, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, IBM, United Continental, PepsiCo, Honeywell, Alcoa and Taiwan Semiconductor.
Wednesday brings China GDP, industrial production and retail sales data.
Stock markets will be closed for Easter holidays in countries including the U.S., U.K. and Germany on Friday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.3 percent as of 9:49 a.m. London time.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.4 percent to the highest in more than six months.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.3 percent to the highest in more than six months on the largest advance in more than a week.
Germany’s DAX Index gained 0.7 percent, reaching the highest in more than six months on its fifth consecutive advance and the biggest rise in almost two weeks.
The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.5 percent, the largest rise in almost two weeks.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent to the highest in more than six months.

Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1 percent.
The euro rose less than 0.05 percent to $1.1307, the strongest in more than three weeks.
The British pound decreased 0.1 percent to $1.3093.
The Japanese yen increased 0.1 percent to 111.94 per dollar.

Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 2.57 percent, the highest in four weeks.
Germany’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 0.07 percent, the highest in almost four weeks.
Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 1.229 percent, the highest in six weeks.
Italy’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.561 percent.

Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2 percent to $63.27 a barrel, the lowest in more than a week.
Gold decreased 0.2 percent to $1,284.95 an ounce, the weakest in almost 12 weeks.