Stocks Mixed, Futures Steady Ahead of Payrolls: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks were mixed and U.S. futures were little changed on Friday as traders awaited key American employment data amid promising developments on the vaccine front.

The Stoxx 600 Index opened higher as miners and travel firms rose. Contracts on the S&P 500 fluctuated ahead of Friday’s monthly payrolls report, which will be closely watched for hints on when the Federal Reserve might start withdrawing support. News that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine neutralizes the fast-spreading delta variant helped boost sentiment.

In Asia, Chinese and Hong Kong equities slid though Japan pushed higher. WTI crude oil traded around $75 a barrel, near the highest since 2018, after OPEC+ infighting cast doubt on an agreement that could ease a surge in prices. The dollar held a climb and Treasuries were little changed.

Investors are parsing data prints like the upcoming payrolls report for a sense of how close the Fed is to tapering policy accommodation as employment improves and inflationary pressures build. The International Monetary Fund said the Fed will likely begin to scale back asset purchases in the first half of 2022, and probably needs to raise interest rates later that year or early 2023.

“If all goes well, basically the Fed is on track to announce some form of a taper before the end of the year,” Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., said on Bloomberg Television. “Everyone is looking at Jackson Hole for Fed Chair Powell to actually indicate what are the intentions going forward.”

Here are some events to watch this week:

ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks FridayThe U.S. jobs report is due Friday

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% as of 9:51 a.m. London timeFutures on the S&P 500 were little changedFutures on the Nasdaq 100 were little changedFutures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changedThe MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.4%The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 1%

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changedThe euro fell 0.2% to $1.1830The Japanese yen was little changed at 111.46 per dollarThe offshore yuan fell 0.2% to 6.4865 per dollarThe British pound was little changed at $1.3755

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 1.45%Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.23%Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 0.70%

Commodities

Brent crude was little changedSpot gold rose 0.3% to $1,783.02 an ounce

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