- S. equity futures point to higher open as Twitter reports.
- Asian stocks mixed; Japanese yields rise on BOJ policy talk
Stocks in Europe edged higher on the heels of a mixed session in Asia as corporate earnings again took a front seat. The dollar and Treasuries were steady before the release of U.S. gross domestic product data.
Telecommunications stocks led gains on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index after BT Group Plc reported quarterly results that beat expectations and Renault SA said profit margins and revenue reached all-time highs. U.S. equity futures were marginally higher as investors looked ahead to Twitter Inc. earnings and the second-quarter GDP report. In Asia, Japanese equities climbed for a fourth day, while stock indexes in China and Hong Kong ticked lower. The euro was steady after disappointing economic data from France, the region’s second-biggest economy.
All eyes are on earnings as Amazon.com Inc.’s strong results Thursday countered Facebook Inc.’s disappointing quarter, which led to a historic plunge. Central bank policy is also back in traders’ focus. Data Friday may show the U.S. economy expanded at the fastest rate since 2014 in the second-quarter, providing support for the Federal Reserve’s policy-tightening path. In Japan, reports suggest Bank of Japan officials are debating ways to reduce the side effects of their yield-curve control policy, while the ECB said Thursday it will stick to its plan to end bond purchases and pledged to keep interest rates unchanged “at least through the summer of 2019.”
Elsewhere, West Texas crude erased a gain after an attack on Saudi tankers stoked supply concerns. The Turkish lira pared some of Thursday’s losses from President Donald Trump threatening sanctions if the nation doesn’t release an American pastor.
Here are some key events still to come during the remainder of this week:
- Earnings season continues with Twitter on Friday.
- S. gross domestic product probably increased by about 4.2 percent at an annualized rate in the second quarter, the most since 2014, economists forecast ahead of Friday’s data.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.1 percent as of 8:07 a.m. London time.
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index advanced less than 0.05 percent.
- The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index jumped 0.3 percent.
- Germany’s DAX Index increased 0.1 percent to the highest in more than five weeks.
- The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 0.2 percent to the highest in more than five weeks.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.5 percent to the highest in five weeks.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1 percent.
- The euro advanced less than 0.05 percent to $1.1648.
- The British pound decreased 0.1 percent to $1.3099, the weakest in more than a week.
- The Japanese yen advanced 0.2 percent to 110.97 per dollar, the strongest in more than two weeks on the biggest gain in a week.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased less than one basis point to 2.97 percent.
- Germany’s 10-year yield advanced less than one basis point to 0.41 percent.
- Britain’s 10-year yield increased less than one basis point to 1.278 percent, the highest in more than two weeks.
- Italy’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 2.698 percent.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.2 percent to $69.46 a barrel.
- Gold advanced 0.1 percent to $1,224.12 an ounce.
