(Bloomberg) — US stocks rose amid upbeat results from Wall Street banks while speculation the Federal Reserve will take a more measured approach to policy tightening eased recession fears.
The S&P 500 gained for a second day. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shares surged after the bank reported second-quarter results that were better than expected in nearly every area. Bank of America Corp. reported an increase in net interest income. Treasuries fell with the dollar.
The S&P 500 index is more than 5% above June’s closing low following Friday’s strong rally on renewed hopes that inflation — and Fed rate hikes — may be close to peaking. Fresh data showed a greater decline in US consumers’ long-term inflation expectations, helping boost odds for a 75 basis points hike in July and squashing talk of a 100 basis-point move.
“We got a combination of better-than-expected inflation signals in some data points at the end of the week, reducing rate hike expectations, and better-than-expected retail sales that reassured markets about recession fears, which is lifting sentiment,” said Esty Dwek, chief investment officer at Flowbank SA. “Add to that some decent bank earnings this morning and markets are moving higher.”
Even so, a pressure point for markets remains gas supply to Europe amid a standoff with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has already curbed supplies to the continent amid tensions related to its invasion of Ukraine. European stocks and US futures briefly pared gains before the bell in New York after a report that Gazprom declared a “force majeure” on gas supplies to Europe to at least one major customer.
“The possibility that Russia stops, or severely reduces, their gas exports to Europe should keep markets on edge in the near-term,” Mizuho International Plc strategists Peter McCallum and Evelyne Gomez-Liechti wrote in a note to clients.
Gains in stock markets may prove to be short-lived as inflation pressures remain high and a recession seems increasingly likely, according to strategists at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Read more: Morgan Stanley, Goldman Say Stocks Have Yet to Find a Bottom
Key events to watch this week:
- Earnings this week include Tesla
- US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits South Korea. Tuesday
- Reserve Bank of Australia releases July minutes. Tuesday
- UK Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speak at event. Tuesday
- Bloomberg Crypto Summit in New York. Tuesday
- Bank of Japan, European Central Bank rate decisions. Thursday
- Nord Stream 1 pipeline scheduled to reopen following maintenance. Thursday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 rose 1% as of 9:50 a.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.3%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1.2%
- The MSCI World index rose 1.3%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.6%
- The euro rose 0.8% to $1.0164
- The British pound rose 1.3% to $1.2006
- The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 138.09 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 2.97%
- Germany’s 10-year yield advanced nine basis points to 1.22%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced five basis points to 2.14%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 4.5% to $101.99 a barrel
- Gold futures rose 0.8% to $1,716.70 an ounce
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