BLBG:Futures Show S&P 500 Rebound Before Debt Vote; Oil Climbs, Yen Strengthens
U.S. stock index futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will rebound from its biggest drop in almost two months, before lawmakers vote on a plan to raise the debt ceiling. Oil advanced and European stocks pared declines.
Futures on the S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent at 9:55 a.m. in London. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.5 percent, after earlier tumbling 1 percent. Brent crude advanced 0.6 percent. Gold approached a record high, and the yen strengthened 0.4 percent to 77.68 per dollar. The yield on the 10-year Italian bond rose three basis points before the nation auctions debt.
House Speaker John Boehner revised his plan to increase the borrowing limit as he gained support among fellow Republicans for a proposal that Senate Democrats said won’t pass their chamber. U.S. data today will likely indicate home sales fell in June and figures due tomorrow may show growth last quarter was the slowest in a year. In Europe, BASF SE and Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) posted earnings that missed estimates, while Japan’s Sony Corp. cut its annual profit forecast.
“On the current proposals a downgrade is still likely” for the U.S., Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income at Evolution Securities Ltd. in London, wrote in a report. “But at this stage, of more concern is the possibility that they don’t even raise the debt ceiling. Surely they couldn’t be that stupid?”
The S&P 500 tumbled 2 percent yesterday. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest oil company, and Colgate-Palmolive Co., the biggest toothpaste maker, are among 62 companies in the index releasing earnings today.
Earnings Scorecard
The S&P 500 has declined 1.1 percent since the earnings season began on July 11, even as four companies beat analyst estimates for every one that missed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In Europe’s Stoxx 600, more companies have trailed projections than surprised positively.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was little changed at 2.98 percent before the government sells $29 billion of seven-year debt, the last of three auctions this week.
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio reworked the legislation to cut $917 billion over 10 years, more than his original approach. All 51 Senate Democrats and two independents signed a letter yesterday pledging to oppose the measure.
The Stoxx 600 declined for a fourth day, the longest losing streak in seven weeks. BASF, the world’s largest chemical maker, and Air France-KLM Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe’s biggest airlines, fell more than 3 percent as earnings missed estimates.
Yen, Kiwi
The yen appreciated 0.3 percent against the euro, rising against 11 of 16 major peers. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against those of six trading partners, slipped 0.2 percent, falling three times in the past four days.
The New Zealand dollar rose 0.4 percent versus the greenback, approaching a record, after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged and said it would likely remove the 50 basis-point “insurance” cut made after a February earthquake. Australia’s dollar also advanced toward the highest level since it was freely floated in 1983.
Brent crude for September settlement rose to $118.09 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe. Gold for immediate delivery gained 0.2 percent to $1,617.45 an ounce, within 0.7 percent of yesterday’s all-time high of $1,628.05. Spot silver climbed 0.5 percent to $40.495 an ounce.
Copper for three-month delivery rose 0.3 percent on the London Metal Exchange after BHP Billiton Ltd. declared force majeure at its strike-hit Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world’s biggest.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.3 percent, led by declines in Asian exporters including Taiwan’s HTC Corp. and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. Turkey’s lira strengthened 1.2 percent against the dollar and the country’s ISE National 100 Index advanced 0.6 percent after central bank Governor Erdem Basci said the Turkish currency isn’t overvalued.
To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at Swallace6@bloomberg.net