Global Stock Rally Stalls as Oil Trades Below $53: Market Wrap. Global equities declined amid dwindling volumes, following a slide in U.S. stocks, and crude oil prices held losses amid an unexpected increase in supplies.

European stocks edged lower, led by miners, and U.S. stock futures stagnated after the Dow Jones Industrial Average failed to make progress toward 20,000 Wednesday. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index headed for a one-month low and oil traded below $53 a barrel after data showed U.S. stockpiles expanded for the first time in five weeks. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index recovered from Wednesday’s decline.

Global equities are taking a breather following a rally triggered by Donald Trump’s surprise election victory in November, with trading volumes ebbing as year-end holidays approach. The Treasuries market has steadied following a selloff that took the 10-year yield to the highest since 2014, with the rate holding in a 7 basis point range this week.

“Moderate losses on Wall Street, underpinned by the fall in oil prices, are providing little inspiration for Asian markets today,” said Jingyi Pan, a strategist at IG Asia in Singapore. “Thin volumes are also providing little momentum for trade into the end of the year.”

Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.1 percent by 9:31 a.m. in London, retreating from the year’s highest intraday level on Wednesday.
Japan’s Topix and Nikkei indexes slid 0.1 percent at the close in Tokyo, with both down for a second day.
The S&P 500 Index futures fell less than 0.1 percent. The underlying gauge dropped 0.3 percent on Wednesday in New York, while the Dow was off 0.2 percent and closed at 19,941.96.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude oil stabilized at $52.50 a barrel Thursday after dropping Wednesday by 1.5 percent, its first slide in a week.
Gold was little changed at $1,131.8 an ounce after falling in the past two days.
Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after falling 0.1 percent Wednesday, but is still on course for a gain of more than 3 percent this year.
The yen lost 0.1 percent to 117.64 per dollar after appreciating 0.3 percent Wednesday.
The euro climbed 0.3 percent to $1.0450
The New Zealand dollar was up 0.1 percent after the country’s gross domestic product report, while the Swedish krona added another 0.3 percent after gaining in Wednesday after the Riksbank extended its quantitative easing program into next year.

Bonds

Treasuries were little changed at 2.54 percent.
Japan’s 10-year rate was 1 basis point lower at 0.05 percent.
German bunds of the same maturity were at 0.25 percent Wednesday.

Source – Bloomberg

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