(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks and the dollar declined, while Treasuries advanced as a risk-off tone spread across global financial markets. Oil led commodities lower.
The S&P 500 Index dropped for the third time in four days as falling commodity prices pulled down materials producers and energy firms. Bloomberg’s commodities gauge was set for the biggest slide in six months as West Texas crude fell below $56 a barrel. The dollar declined the most in a month, while Treasury yields headed for the largest fall in more than a week.
“Particularly outside of the U.S., last week wasn’t a great week on the economic data front. We had sort of slowing growth in China, some potential impacts from currencies and some of the export data out of Europe,” Shannon Saccocia, chief investment strategist at Boston Private Wealth, said by phone. “We also see that the yield curve continues to flatten, and so those are things that I think are all weighing on markets a little bit as we go into this sort of shortened, less volume period over the next couple of weeks over the holidays.”
Markets have been pressured in the past week after U.S. stocks reached records and Japan’s touched the highest in a quarter century. The chances of tax reform in America, concerns about a moderating Chinese economy and the direction of monetary policy have ushered in a risk-off tone that’s seen credit spreads widen, global stock indexes decline and commodities slump.
U.S. inflation and retail sales numbers will take center stage on Wednesday after producer prices beat expectations as traders try to gauge the Federal Reserve’s path for rate hikes.
Terminal users can read more in our Markets Live blog.
Here are some key events investors are watching this week:
- BOE officials address the bank’s future on Thursday, while Draghi speaks a second time Friday.
- A string of Fed appearances may further illuminate the FOMC’s commitment to a December hike.
- U.S. CPI and retail sales data will be released Wednesday morning
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The S&P 500 Index dropped 0.3 percent as of 2:45 p.m. New York time.
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index sank 0.6 percent, after hitting the lowest in seven weeks with its sixth consecutive decline.
- The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 0.1 percent.
- The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.3 percent.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index decreased 0.5 percent, touching lowest in almost three weeks on the largest dip since Sept. 7.
- The euro climbed 1 percent to $1.1795, reaching the strongest in almost three weeks on its fifth consecutive advance.
- The British pound gained 0.4 percent to $1.3168.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 2.3788 percent, the first retreat in a week.
- Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.39 percent, the biggest drop in more than a week.
- Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 1.321 percent.
Commodities
- Gold rose 0.3 percent at $1,282 an ounce.
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.8 percent to $55.74 a barrel.
Asia
- The Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed little changed, while the Topix index lost 0.3 percent in a fourth day of losses.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged lower, while the Shanghai Composite slid 0.5 percent.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.9 percent and the Kospi index in Seoul slid 0.2 percent.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2 percent in a third day of losses.
- The Japanese yen rose 0.1 percent to 113.47 per dollar, the strongest in more than two weeks.
