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Cape Town - The dollar gained as investors assessed the latest news on US tax-cut plans and looked ahead to Friday’s American jobs report. Stocks in Europe advanced, while oil headed for an eight-month high on signs Opec will extend supply cuts.
Car makers paced the advance in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index as Renault jumped after the French government sold part of its stake, offsetting a decline for banks after disappointing earnings from Societe Generale and Erste Group Bank.
Earlier, suppliers of Apple climbed in Asia after the iPhone maker’s forecast for holiday sales topped estimates.
Treasuries were steady, core European bonds gained and the euro weakened. Most emerging-market currencies declined after Venezuela said it will restructure its debt.
US employment probably surged in October, according to economists, rebounding from a hurricane-depressed September. The shift in focus to data follows a drop in Treasury yields on Thursday as President Donald Trump confirmed that Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell is his pick to chair the central bank.
Investors are also weighing the impact of House Republican leaders’ sweeping tax plan, which includes lowering the corporate tax rate to 20% from 35%. S&P 500 Index futures advanced.
Meanwhile, President Nicolas Maduro said Venezuela will seek to restructure its global debt after the state oil company makes one more payment. While the risk of contagion is low, an index of emerging-market currencies declined for the first time this week.
And the weakest quarter for Australian retail sales in seven years sent the Aussie lower and bonds climbing.
The Aussie dollar dropped as much as 0.5% back below 77 US cents and bond yields extended declines as traders pushed back bets on the timing for an interest-rate increase.
Here are some of the remaining scheduled events this week:
Trump starts an 11-day trip to Asia, his first as president, on Friday. Trade and security issues - particularly North Korea - will probably be in focus.
The US reports on its trade balance. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is among companies announcing results. iPhone X debuts in stores.
Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.3% as of 10:54am London time. The UK’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.3% to the highest on record. Germany’s DAX Index jumped 0.3% to the highest on record.
Spain’s IBEX Index fell 1.3%. Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.1%.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%. The euro declined 0.1% to $1.1644. The British pound increased 0.1% to $1.3069.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased one basis point to 2.35%. Germany’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 0.37%. Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 1.335%, the lowest in almost seven weeks.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $54.84 a barrel, the highest in eight months. Gold dipped 0.1% to $1 274.92 an ounce.
Asia
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.5%, and South Korea’s Kospi index rose by the same amount. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3%.
Apple suppliers in Taiwan advanced. Hon Hai Precision Industry, the main assembler of Apple devices, rose as much as 1.8%; Wistron, another Apple assembler, gained 2.5% and Genius Electronic Optical climbed 2.8%.
The Japanese yen decreased less than 0.05% to 114.09 per dollar.
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