Stocks Waver on Economic Data, Debt-Ceiling Talks: Markets Wrap

Stocks fluctuated as traders assessed economic data, Fedspeak and the latest on US debt-ceiling negotiations.

The S&P 500 posted small moves at the start of the week. Investors also kept a close eye on the tech space after Microsoft Corp.’s $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard Inc. won European Union approval. Treasuries fell and the dollar was little changed.

A gauge of New York state manufacturing activity slumped in May by the most in more than three years. The debt ceiling remains a big focus for investors, and strategists are warning about market turmoil and economic disaster if politicians don’t agree to raise the government’s borrowing limit. President Joe Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders are planning to hold further talks on Tuesday.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic pushed back against bets the central bank will cut interest rates this year and cautioned against taking further hikes off the table if inflation doesn’t cool. His Chicago counterpart Austan Goolsbee said much of the impact from the rapid hiking campaign is still working its way through the economy. They both spoke on CNBC.

Elsewhere, Turkey will hold a runoff vote to determine if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extends his time in power into a third decade. Turkish stocks slumped as much as 6.7% Monday before triggering a halt in trading. The lira fell 0.4%.

Key events this week:

• US retail sales, industrial production, business inventories, Tuesday
• Fed speakers include Cleveland’s Loretta Mester, New York’s John Williams, Atlanta’s Raphael Bostic and Chicago’s Austan Goolsbee, Tuesday
• Japan GDP, Wednesday
• Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
• US housing starts, Wednesday
• BOE Governor Andrew Bailey speaks at the British Chamber of Commerce, Wednesday
• US initial jobless claims, Conference Board leading index, existing home sales, Thursday
• Japan CPI, Friday
• ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in panel at Brazil central bank conference, Friday
• New York Fed’s John Williams speaks at monetary policy research conference in Washington, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell and former chair Ben Bernanke to take part in panel discussion, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 was little changed as of 10:35 a.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.1%
• The MSCI World index rose 0.1%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
• The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0876
• The British pound rose 0.5% to $1.2515
• The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 136.15 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 1.4% to $27,336.17
• Ether rose 1.3% to $1,822.65

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 3.50%
• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.31%
• Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.82%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.6% to $71.18 a barrel
• Gold futures were little changed

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