(Bloomberg) — U.S. futures fell and stocks were mixed Thursday as investors weighed the prospect of reduced stimulus against signs of economic progress. Treasuries rose and oil reversed gains.
Contracts on key U.S. benchmarks declined, signaling a fourth day of losses for the S&P 500 Index. Cisco Systems Inc. fell after its profit forecast missed estimates. European equities pared gains to trade modestly higher, boosted by technology and other defensive sectors, while Asian shares were little changed.
Oil reversed an earlier gain to extend a three-week low as investors focused on the prospect of a boost in Iranian supply. Yields on 10-year Treasuries fell as the dollar weakened. Cryptocurrencies stabilized after a volatile session that saw Bitcoin plunge and rally about 30% in the same day.
Investor worry that faster inflation will prompt authorities to ease back on stimulus has weighed on risk assets in recent sessions. Stocks have been volatile since a record reached in early May, and commodities have dropped from multi-year highs. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed some officials were open to a debate at “upcoming meetings” on scaling back bond purchases if the U.S. economy continued to progress rapidly.
“It was a surprise to hear the talk about Fed tapering,” Joyce Chang, JPMorgan’s chair of global research, said on Bloomberg TV. “The market had been thinking there might be a couple of months before you really saw this particular issue come into focus.” Still, Chang said it was not the time to bet against the broader fundamentals right now on the outlook for growth.
Elsewhere, copper advanced after Wednesday’s slump, helped by expectations that demand would remain resilient. Iron ore futures slid as gold held near a four-month high.
Here are some key events this week:
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and ECB President Christine Lagarde speak at the Vienna Economic Dialogue ThursdayEuro-area finance ministers and central bank chiefs hold an informal meeting. A larger group of EU finance ministers and central bank chiefs will meet May 22
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% as of 9:52 a.m. London timeFutures on the S&P 500 fell 0.5%Futures on the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1%The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.2%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%The euro was little changed at $1.2187The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 108.91 per dollarThe offshore yuan was little changed at 6.4386 per dollarThe British pound was little changed at $1.4110
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 1.66%Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to -0.10%Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.86%
Commodities
Brent crude fell 1.5% to $66 a barrelSpot gold was little changed
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