Stocks Whipsaw as Traders Seek Haven After PPI: Markets Wrap

Stocks whipsawed in what’s shaping up to be another session of exhausting swings after a selloff that drove the US equity market to its lowest levels in more than a year. Treasuries climbed alongside the dollar.

The S&P 500 briefly rose amid gains in consumer and industrial shares, while technology companies continued to weigh on trading, with Apple Inc. down more than 20% from its January peak. Equities posted bigger losses earlier in the day after another report signaled persistent inflationary pressures that should make the Federal Reserve keep its firm grip on monetary policy. The greenback’s advance drove the euro to a five-year low while prompting the Hong Kong monetary authority to defend its currency’s peg.

The producer-price index for final demand increased 11% from April of last year and 0.5% from the prior month, driven by goods, Labor Department data showed Thursday. That followed sizable upward revisions to the March figures. The median forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 10.7% year-over-year increase for the overall PPI and a 0.5% monthly advance.

Wall Street’s main equity indexes have lost $6.3 trillion in value since the March 29 high on worries about an economic slump amid rising inflation and rates. Citigroup Inc. strategists said growth stocks, including the battered tech sector, will likely remain under pressure as central banks tighten monetary policy. Mark Mobius told CNBC the S&P 500 is “probably going to go lower,” adding that “we are not at a bottom, but may be at the beginning of one. A bottom needs everyone to give up hope.”

Here are key events to watch this week:

• University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 10:33 a.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%
• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1%
• The MSCI World index fell 0.8%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
• The euro fell 1% to $1.0407
• The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2209
• The Japanese yen rose 1.5% to 128.08 per dollar

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined five basis points to 2.87%
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined 11 basis points to 0.87%
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined 13 basis points to 1.70%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $106.68 a barrel
• Gold futures fell 0.8% to $1,838.50 an ounce

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