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US futures rise after S&P 500 snaps 7-day winning streak and bond yields fall to 5-month lows

Harry Robertson   

US futures rise after S&P 500 snaps 7-day winning streak and bond yields fall to 5-month lows
Stock Market2 min read
  • US futures rose on Wednesday after the S&P 500 snapped a seven-day run of wins a day earlier.
  • Bond yields slid to their lowest level in five months as doubts emerged about the economic recovery.
  • Investors are becoming more cautious about US stocks after the S&P 500's 15% year-to-date rally.

US stock futures moved higher on Wednesday after the benchmark S&P 500 index broke a seven-day rally and as bond yields fell to their lowest level since February.

S&P 500 futures climbed 0.1% after the index slipped 0.2% in Tuesday's session, while Dow Jones futures were roughly flat in the wake of 0.6% loss for the industrial average the day before.

Nasdaq 100 futures rallied 0.4%, following a gain of 0.4% on Tuesday, as investors appeared to return to fast-growing tech stocks amid doubts about the global economic recovery.

Bond yields, which move inversely to prices, continued to fall in European trading on Wednesday after some disappointing economic data on Tuesday.

The yield on the key 10-year US Treasury note dropped 2.7 basis points to 1.343%, its lowest level since February. The dollar index rose 0.04% to 92.58 after rallying on Tuesday.

Analysts said the relatively weak reading on a closely watched US economic survey on Tuesday, which suggested the service sector jobs market was cooling, was one catalyst for the slip in yields. Yet the relatively sharp drop at a time of strong growth and inflation surprised some.

"Yesterday's pullback and the sharp drop in bond yields reflected doubts about the pace of growth, and the extent to which costs are going up for businesses," said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

Yet he added: "The narrative and the macro picture seem a little less understood: Has growth peaked? Will inflation wipe out economic gains? Has the Fed really got inflation angst?"

Investors will cast a beady eye over the US Federal Reserve's minutes from its last meeting for more clues about its approach to inflation. They are due out later on Wednesday.

In Europe, the continent-wide Stoxx 600 index rose 0.45% on Wednesday. In Asia overnight, China's CSI 300 jumped 1.13%, but Tokyo's Nikkei 225 declined 0.96%.

Oil prices recovered after falling on Tuesday, despite rising sharply earlier in the day after a meeting between the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries was abruptly called off.

Brent crude rose 0.74% on Wednesday to $75.08 a barrel, while WTI crude climbed 0.83% to $73.98 a barrel.

Bitcoin was up 2.6% to $34,827, as it continued to trade in a band between around $32,000 and $35,000.

Analysts are growing noticeably more cautious about the US stock market, in view of the S&P 500's year-to-date gain of more than 15%.

Deutsche Bank published its house view on Tuesday, predicting that the S&P 500 would slide between 6% to 10% in the summer. It noted that "indicators of macro cyclical growth are peaking" and "inflation risks are high."

But the investment bank's analysts also said: "We then see equities rallying back as our baseline remains for strong growth but only a gradual and modest rise in inflation."

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