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New York - US stocks fluctuated near all-time highs, the dollar weakened and Treasuries advanced with gold after the latest jobs report offered mixed signals on the strength of the American labour market.
The S&P 500 Index held near a record after rate-sensitive shares advanced as the 10-year Treasury yield touched the lowest level of the year. Wage growth and hiring came in below forecasts, sending the Bloomberg dollar index to its lowest level since November.
European shares pared an advance. Gold erased losses and oil headed for the biggest weekly drop since May 5. The Bloomberg Commodity Index slid to the lowest in more than a year.
The latest jobs report likely won’t deter the Federal Reserve from increasing interest rates in two weeks as the economy continues to grind higher even as Washington shows few signs of moving forward with tax and spending reforms. Global equities have advanced more than 10% this year to set fresh records as data showed growth in the world’s largest economy is intact.
“Equity has bought anything even resembling a dip, we will see whether today causes any nerves for equities or whether this will be viewed as an anomaly,” said Peter Tchir of Brean Capital in a note to clients. “On other hand, Citi Economic Surprise has been disappointing across the board and maybe jobs are finally catching up?”
Here are some key upcoming events:
Federal Reserve officials Patrick Harker and Robert Kaplan are giving speeches ahead of the so-called quiet period going into the central bank’s rate decision later this month.
Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 was little changed at 2 431.70 as 14:32. The large-cap equity benchmark, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 indices all closed at records Thursday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.3%, cutting its advance in half following the jobs data. Emerging-market equities rose 0.6%, extending the climb on the report.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index retreated 0.4% to the lowest level since November. It’s down by the same amount in the week. The British pound added 0.1% to $1.2890, while the euro strengthened 0.5% to $1.1268. The yen gained 0.6% to 110.754 per dollar, after falling 0.5% on Thursday.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell four basis points to 2.1695. It touched the weakest level of the year immediately following the jobs report. The UK benchmark yield dropped three basis points to 1.04%. Yields in France and Germany fell three basis points.
Commodities
WTI crude oil dropped 2.3% to $47.24 a barrel. It’s on course to fall almost 5% this week as US crude production expanded to the highest level since August 2015, countering a slide in stockpiles. Gold reversed a slide of 0.3% to trade higher by 0.5% at $1 277.10 an ounce. Copper dropped 1.9%, leading industrial metals lower
Asia
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.9% to the highest since April 2015. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rallied 1.6% and topped 20 000 for the first time since December 2015. China’s offshore yuan tumbled the most since February amid signs that a funding crunch is beginning to abate. The onshore currency slipped 0.2%, breaking a four-day rally.
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