Stocks Rally Amid US/China Conciliatory Remarks: Markets Wrap

New York (Apr 10)  Stocks surged Tuesday following conciliatory comments from U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at releasing some pressure from a trade dispute between the world’s biggest economies. Treasuries fell with the dollar.

All major U.S. equity indexes spiked higher in afternoon trading and were up at least 1.9 percent after Trump praised Xi’s “kind words on tariffs and automobile barriers.” In a keynote address Tuesday before the Boao Forum for Asia, China’s leader backed free trade and dialog to resolve disputes and pledged to open the nation’s banking and auto manufacturing sectors.

▶ China's Xi Defuses Trade War Rhetoric

Bob Doll, Nuveen Asset Management chief equity strategist, discusses broad trading ranges and China-exposed stocks.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index followed shares from Sydney to Hong Kong higher. Gold climbed. WTI crude shot past $65 a barrel and Brent futures reached their highest level since December 2014. European government bonds edged lower, while the single currency rose after somewhat hawkish remarks by a European Central Bank official. And the yen declined.

Russian assets remained in focus following a fresh round of U.S. sanctions. The ruble extended its decline, dropping to the lowest level since December 2016, and equities fluctuated before rising.

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Here’s what is coming up this week:
•Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg testifies at two Congressional hearings Tuesday and Wednesday.
•U.S. CPI data and FOMC minutes due Wednesday.
•JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. report first-quarter earnings Friday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks
•The S&P 500 Index was up 1.9 percent to 2,663 as of 3:14 p.m. in New York.
•The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 2.4 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 2 percent.
•The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.8 percent to the highest in a month.
•The MSCI All-Country World Index increased 1.5 percent.
•The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 1.1 percent.
•The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.9 percent.

Currencies
•The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3 percent to the lowest in two weeks.
•The Japanese yen decreased 0.4 percent to 107.16 per dollar.
•The euro gained 0.3 percent to $1.2359, the highest in two weeks.
•The British pound increased 0.4 percent to $1.4182, the strongest in more than two weeks.

Bonds
•The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.7972 percent.
•Germany’s 10-year yield added one basis point to 0.516 percent.
•Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 1.407 percent.

Commodities
•Gold gained 0.4 percent to $1,341.69 an ounce.
•West Texas Intermediate crude increased 3.7 percent to $65.77 a barrel.

Bloomberg