(Bloomberg) — Stocks rose as investor optimism grew that the economic recovery can weather the coronavirus flareup.
The S&P 500 advanced for a third session, trading near its all-time high. Treasuries fell, while the dollar fluctuated.
U.S. consumer spending — adjusted for inflation — stagnated as the fastest price gains in nearly four decades eroded purchasing power. Meantime, orders placed with factories for durable goods rose by the most in six months. Jobless claims were little changed last week as the labor market continues to recover.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will wait until after Christmas to announce new curbs to tackle the omicron strain. An Imperial College London team working with a larger data set found that people with the latest variant were almost half as likely to need an overnight hospital stay. Omicron’s fast spread could leave the population almost unprotected against Covid-19, prompting a decision to offer some people fourth vaccine doses, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.
“Markets hate uncertainty and not knowing,” Carol Schleif, deputy chief investment officer at BMO Family Office, told Bloomberg Television. “But it seems like it’s edging toward something more positive.”
What to watch this week:
- Friday: U.S. markets are closed. U.K. markets close earlier
For more market analysis, read our MLIV blog.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 9:30 a.m. New York time
- The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7%
- The MSCI World index rose 0.4%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
- The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1297
- The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3399
- The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 114.35 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 1.47%
- Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to -0.26%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 0.92%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed
- Gold futures rose 0.2% to $1,806.40 an ounce
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
