Futures rise before growth data; stocks steady
BNN Bloomberg
U.S. index futures advanced and European stocks were steady on Thursday as investors weighed earnings reports to assess the strength of the economic recovery. Shorter-term Treasury yields rose faster than longer-term ones.
U.S. index futures advanced and European stocks were steady on Thursday as investors weighed earnings reports to assess the strength of the economic recovery. Shorter-term Treasury yields rose faster than longer-term ones.
Contracts on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 gained, with bellwether Caterpillar Inc. rising 2 per cent in pre-market trading after an earnings beat. Ford Motor Co. soared more than 10 per cent after lifting forecasts and resuming dividends. EBay Inc. dropped more than 5 per cent after reporting disappointing results late Wednesday.
The 10-year Treasury rate was flat, while the two-year yield added four basis points. Investors are awaiting a report later Thursday on U.S. economic growth, which is likely to show a cooling recovery, as well as weekly jobs data.
Flatter sovereign-yield curves are highlighting growth worries as price pressures stoked by an energy crunch and supply-chain snarls push central banks toward paring accommodation. Investors will look to European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde later on Thursday for reassurance that surging prices are just transitory after the monetary authority left rates unchanged and pledged to continue with its bond-buying program.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fluctuated between modest gains and losses, with the energy sector underperforming as Royal Dutch Shell Plc slid more than 4 per cent after missing analysts’ profit estimates, and crude oil extended declines. Better-than-estimated results for companies from Anheuser-Busch InBev NV to Nokia Oyj cushioned the impact of concerns over elevated inflation. Most European bonds gained.
