(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks reversed early gains on the last session of the year. The 10-year Treasury yield held above 1.5% while the dollar declined.
The S&P 500 was little changed in a choppy week of thin volume. The benchmark pulled back from a record high on Thursday, but remains up 27% this year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ticked lower. The dollar was lower against most of its Group-of 10-peers. Oil declined, paring the biggest annual advance since 2009.
In Europe, with markets closed or shutting down early on Friday, trading was light as investors drew a line under a strong year for global equities as economies recovered from the pandemic. Bond investors are nursing losses as many central banks move toward tighter monetary settings to fight inflation. How the coronavirus and those policy shifts shape economic reopening are key for the outlook.
“If there is one thing that we have learned this year, it is that the U.S. economy has proven to be resilient in the face of pandemic-related challenges,” said Brett Ryan, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. While omicron and fiscal uncertainty present risks, “the economy would still expand at a well-above-trend pace even if these risks are realized,” he said.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin rallied for a second session, paring its biggest monthly drop since May to trade around $48,000. Traders are continuing to monitor China’s struggling property developers. A Chinese state-owned enterprise will take a 29% stake in China South City Holdings Ltd., in the latest sign of the authorities stepping up support for ailing real-estate firms.
The spotlight was also on talks by telephone between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said Putin was satisfied with the outcome of the discussions. The U.S. and its allies have raised alarm over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For more market analysis, read our MLIV blog.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 was little changed as of 9:49 a.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
- The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2%
- The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%
- The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1347
- The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3522
- The Japanese yen was little changed at 115.07 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.51%
- Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.18%
- Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.97%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.3% to $76.02 a barrel
- Gold futures rose 0.6% to $1,825 an ounce
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