(Bloomberg) — U.S. equity-index futures struggled for direction on Friday as data from China spurred new inflation concerns despite Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s promise of a recovery without surging prices. The dollar gained along with Treasury yields.
S&P 500 futures erased an advance after the underlying index notched an all-time high amid low volumes on U.S. exchanges. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 edged lower after Chinese data showing the fastest factory inflation since 2018 weighed on some Asian benchmarks. Traders’ focus will be on U.S. producer-price data later Friday for further clues on the inflation outlook.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged lower at the open, on course for a sixth straight week of gains, the longest run since November 2019. Bond yields ticked higher across the euro region.
Fed officials have stressed that the U.S. economy continues to need aggressive policy support as it recovers from the pandemic, even as the outlook brightens amid widening vaccinations. Powell said Thursday that policy makers would react if inflation expectations started “moving persistently and materially” above tolerable levels. Despite the strength of some indicators, the recovery remains incomplete, as reflected in the latest unexpectedly high U.S. jobless claims.
“A lot of investors are worried about the stock-market highs, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get higher, and the economic conditions are certainly set up for a positive equity environment,” said Xi Qiao, managing director at UBS Global Wealth Management, on Bloomberg TV.
Oil fluctuated below $60 a barrel as Saudi Arabia defended the OPEC+ plan to boost output, and said the alliance can change course if needed.
More than 704 million shots have been administered worldwide, but uncertainty over risks associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine has slowed the process in some countries. China is among nations facing fresh hurdles as its effort to vaccinate 560 million people by the end of June runs into a supply shortage.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were flat as of 8:15 a.m. in London. The S&P 500 closed 0.4% higher.Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.2% after the index gained 1%.The Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.1%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.4%.The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.7%.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%.The euro slipped 0.1% to $1.1898.The British pound weakened 0.3% to $1.3689.The Japanese yen traded at 109.50 per dollar, down 0.2%.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 1.67%.Germany’s 10-year yield climbed two basis points to -0.32%.The U.K. 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.77%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.2% to $59.45 a barrel.Gold was 0.5% lower at about $1,746 an ounce.
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