TSX rises as tech slump drags on U.S. stocks
U.S. stocks rallied in afternoon trading, overcoming a tech slump that hanged over the Nasdaq 100 Index after a report Apple Inc. won’t boost iPhone production. Treasury yields fell.
Broader U.S. stock indexes climbed, with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. powering gains in the S&P 500 Index, as investors sought out bargains after last month’s downtown and weighed the outlook for midterm elections Tuesday. Financial and energy shares climbed, while Facebook and Amazon headed lower. Oil fell for a sixth straight day.
The S&P/TSX Composite was trading 111.84 points higher as of 3:18 p.m. ET at 15,231.12
Tech’s underperformance continued a trend seen in the past few weeks, with the S&P 500 Index down just 6 per cent since the end of August, compared with drop of about 10 per cent for the Nasdaq 100. For the full year, tech indexes are still faring better.
Politics and central banks loom large in a busy week for global markets. U.S. congressional elections, seen as a referendum on the policies of President Donald Trump, take place Tuesday. Investors also are on alert for any trade developments after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow last week downplayed the potential for a quick deal between the U.S. and China. Up ahead is the Federal Reserve policy meeting Thursday, when officials are expected to keep the benchmark rate unchanged but give clues for moves into 2019.
“Early this week here, people are trying to resolve some of the uncertainty with this election,” said Jerry Braakman, the chief investment officer at Santa Ana, California-based First American Trust. “There’s not a great deal of value anywhere in the market, and that’s why we’re seeing increased volatility.”
Elsewhere, crude climbed as sanctions on Iran oil snapped back into place Monday. The pound strengthened a third day in four on signs of further progress in Brexit negotiations. Emerging-market currencies and shares fell after stocks in Asia closed mostly lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell into the red in relatively thin trading.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.7 per cent as of 3:17 p.m. in New York; the Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.3 per cent; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 per cent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2 per cent. The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.4 per cent, the first retreat in a week.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.2 per cent. The euro climbed 0.3 per cent to US$1.1417. The Japanese yen was little changed at 113.22 per dollar. The British pound jumped 0.6 per cent to US$1.3044. The MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index sank 0.1 per cent.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 3.2 per cent. Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.42 per cent. Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 1.5 per cent, its sixth straight increase.
Commodities
The Bloomberg Commodity Index rose 0.4 per cent to the highest in a week. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5 per cent to US$62.85 a barrel. Copper decreased 1.9 per cent to US$2.753 a pound. Gold slipped 0.2 per cent to US$1,230.74 an ounce.
Source: BNN BLoomberg
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/tsx-rises-as-tech-slump-drags-on-u-s-stocks-1.1162926
