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London - Stocks in Europe drifted following gains across Asia as investors weighed the ongoing earnings season against a mixed set of signals for global economic growth. The won rallied as the two Koreas moved closer to peace.
Miners and food and beverage companies were the biggest losers in Europe, while media and telecom companies led advancers. The pound slipped after Prime Minister Theresa May’s ally, Amber Rudd, quit as UK home secretary. Shares in the FTSE 100 Index advanced. In commodity markets, oil and gold fell as the dollar edged higher.
Equities in Seoul advanced with the won after North Korea pledged denuclearisation on Friday ahead of the upcoming summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.
Data on Friday showed the US economy cooled in the first quarter, though not as much as forecast, while the UK posted the worst quarterly GDP figures since 2012. France and Spain reported slightly slower growth rates. Meanwhile, a gauge of activity at China’s manufacturers remained robust, signaling that the economic expansion is intact.
Results from tech giants Microsoft, Intel and Amazon.com boosted US equities at the end of last week.
These are some key events to watch this week:
• The Federal Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting on Tuesday.
• Fed policy makers will probably keep their target rate for overnight bank lending in a range of 1.5% to 1.75%, economists forecast.
• It’s Golden Week in Japan, with public holidays on Monday, Thursday and Friday.
• China is shut on Monday and on Tuesday.
• The Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy decision is out on Tuesday.
• The central bank is expected to keep rates on hold, as they’ve been for more than one-and-a-half years.
• The European Commission presents its spring economic forecasts, which include projections for growth, inflation, debt and deficit, and unveils its proposal for the EU’s seven-year budget framework on Wednesday.
• Payroll gains in the US probably picked up in April, with the unemployment rate forecast to drop to 4%, according to surveys of economists.
• Earnings season continues, with Apple headlining.
• Other high profile results include Pfizer, Merck & Co, Cigna, HSBC, BNP Paribas SA, Standard Chartered, Tesla, BP, McDonald’s and Adidas.
And these are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.1% as of 10:07.
• The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 0.2% to the highest in more than a week.
• Futures on the S&P 500 Index increased 0.3% to the highest in more than a week.
• The UK’s FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.2% to the highest in almost three months.
Currencies
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.1%.
• The South Korean Won increased 0.8% to 1 068.05 per dollar, the strongest in more than a week.
• The euro was unchanged at $1.213.
• The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.377, the weakest in two months.
Bonds
• The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 2.97%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to 0.59%, the largest gain in a week.
• Britain’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to 1.445%, the biggest gain in a week.
Commodities
• Gold decreased 0.5% to $1 317.27 an ounce.
• West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.9% to $67.47 a barrel, the lowest in almost two weeks.
• LME aluminum declined 0.2% to $2 218.00 per metric ton, the lowest in almost three weeks.
• LME copper advanced 0.2% to $6 812.50 per metric ton.
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