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Metals climb as zinc hits 10-year high; dollar steadies
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Treasuries edge lower after Wednesday jump; gold advances
The euro fell against all its major peers while European shares drifted lower after a mixed Asian session and before the region’s central bank releases minutes of its last policy meeting.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index started on the back foot and stayed that way, with declines in banking shares offsetting advances in miners. Gold and tin were the best performers among metals, and zinc traded near a 10-year high. The dollar was steady and Treasuries gave up a little of Wednesday’s jump, but European bonds still rose as they played catch up after Fed minutes had showed concern among policy makers over benign inflation.
The tumult that swept markets in the wake of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea last week has eased, bringing down gauges of equity and bond volatility and repairing most of the damage done to stock markets. But political angst isn’t over; investors will likely keep one eye on Washington, where President Donald Trump disbanded two high-profile business advisory councils amid the fallout from his response to the weekend violence in Virginia.
In Europe, policy makers have signaled that they are getting closer to phasing out quantitative easing. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that ECB President Mario Draghiwon’t deliver a fresh policy message at the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming later this month.
Terminal subscribers can read more on our Markets Live blog.
Here are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.3 percent as of 9:46 a.m. in London.
- The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell 0.3 percent.
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index declined 0.2 percent, the first retreat in a week on a closing basis.
Currencies
- The euro fell 0.3 percent to $1.1732.
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained less than 0.05 percent to 1,160.39.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 2.23 percent.
- Britain’s 10-year yield decreased one basis point to 1.091 percent.
- Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.43 percent.
Commodities
- Gold in London advanced 0.3 percent to $1,287.55 an ounce.
- Zinc decreased 0.5 percent to $3,103.00 per metric ton on the London Metal Exchange.
- West Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.1 percent to $46.72 a barrel, the lowest in more than three weeks.
By Eddie Van Der Walt — With assistance by Adam Haigh
August 17, 2017, 6:47 PM GMT+10
Source: Bloomberg