Stocks Gain on Virus Progress, China; Dollar Holds: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks and S&P 500 equity futures rose on signs of a progress in coronavirus treatments and a thaw in U.S. and China relations.

BT Group rallied 8% to lead gains in the Europe Stoxx 600 Index, and Asian shares advanced. Hong Kong shares outperformed, aided by a rally in WeChat owner Tencent Holdings Ltd. The 10-year yield on New Zealand bonds fell to a record low after the central bank fell short of its quantitative easing buying target. Treasuries and the dollar were steady.

People familiar with the matter said President Donald Trump’s team is privately seeking to reassure U.S. companies that they can still do business with the WeChat messaging app in China. Over the weekend, Trump also moved to expand access to a virus treatment involving blood plasma from recovered patients.

Governments continue to tread a fine line between easing lockdowns to revive growth and controlling any resurgence of virus cases. The pandemic passed two milestones: 800,000 deaths and 23 million cases. U.S. infections showed signs of stabilization but concern is growing in Europe and parts of Asia.

The Federal Reserve is holding its annual Economic Policy Symposium — typically held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming — on Aug. 27-28 via livestream. Chair Jerome Powell takes the virtual stage on Thursday to speak about the Fed’s long-awaited monetary policy framework review, which has focused on a new inflation strategy.

“More clarity will no doubt be sought via this week’s Jackson Hole Symposium,” said Ben Emons, managing director for global macro strategy at Medley Global Advisors. “Meanwhile, we expect the enforcement meeting to proceed smoothly within the next several weeks,” he said, referring to the expected U.S.-China trade pact review that was delayed earlier this month.

Meanwhile, storms Marco and Laura rolled toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, where they’ll come ashore as hurricanes as soon as Monday. The threat prompted evacuations of off-shore energy platforms and set residents and officials on edge from Texas to Florida.

Here are some key events coming up:

Earnings from companies including, ICBC, PetroChina, HP Inc., Royal Bank of Canada, Best Buy and Dollar General.The U.S. Republican National Convention takes place, with President Donald Trump speaking the final day, Aug. 27.The Bank of Korea sets monetary policy and will hold a briefing on Thursday.Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks at event on Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.6% as of 8:32 a.m. London time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index surged 1.4%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.7%.The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.9%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1811.The British pound was little changed at $1.3091.The Japanese yen was little changed at 105.83 per dollar.The offshore yuan strengthened 0.2% to 6.9092 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 0.63%.The yield on two-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 0.15%.Germany’s 10-year yield jumped one basis point to -0.50%.Britain’s 10-year yield dipped less than one basis point to 0.203%.Japan’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.027%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $42.64 a barrel.Brent crude climbed 0.9% to $44.67 a barrel.Gold strengthened 0.4% to $1,947.40 an ounce.

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